All's Fair In Love and War
by NaruBaby2496
Summary: After betraying and killing Madara in the Fourth Ninja War, Konoha has weclomed Sasuke back with not-so-open arms. With all his probabtions, he's stuck with the one person who annoyed the living crud out of him, but kept him happy nonetheless. SXS NxH 2nd
1. Chapter 1

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 1

* * *

The sky was tainted red, reflecting on the blood stained around the village, and the bodies disassembled, all the people dying, dead or chakra deprived. Standing upon the Hokage tower stood Madara, cackling as he saw all the destruction and hate he had always dreamed of—he spent of his natural and unnatural life dreaming this nightmare and it was coming true. The bijuu would emerge from the east gates in a few hours; he could feel the ground quaking as the beast walked nearer and nearer to Konoha to destroy this 'peaceful' village.

The masked man scoffed. This place looked very peaceful, with everyone of there ninjas fighting against one of his for their lives. If this was Konoha peace, he sure did enjoy it.

Sasuke's eyes mimicked the color of the sky. They were blood red and blood thirsty, anxious to kill the main threat in his life after Itachi and Orochimaru. There was always that orange babbling idiot to destroy and now was his chance. The Uchiha swung his Chidori infused arm at the blonde's head. He barely missed his target, singeing his hair brown. Naruto growled, creating multiple clones of his at an instant, sending them all toward Sasuke at the same moment.

Sasuke smirked. Naruto was an idiot if he thought that he somehow forgot Naruto could create clones. Naruto is an idiot for forgetting Sasuke had the speed of a god and could tell which one was the real Naruto. This fight would end soon with the expected winner. The duck-butt haired teen dodged every attack, jumping high into the air, making hand signs in the process. Taking a deep breath, an inferno of fire burned down the whole forest, and lit up the village.

Feeling accomplished, Sasuke smirked. This was too easy. Just as this thought was casted, Naruto whacked Sasuke with a left hook, hitting the Uchiha square in the jaw, sending him toward the burning ground, spiraling. Without time to react, Sasuke thudded to the ground, and Naruto fell atop him, and mercilessly pounded into his face.

The metallic taste of blood filled Sasuke's mouth, but spit it out into Naruto's face. The Uzumaki became furious, and went into Sage Mode. In the heat of the fire, the two best friends separated themselves and reevaluated their attack plan. Naruto yelled, wiping bloody sweat off his forehead, "What the FUCK is your problem Sasuke?! How could you do this?!" Sasuke smirked. He felt he should at least entertain the blonde before he killed him, "I'm doing my job as an S-Ranked criminal, Dobe. If you really want to be Hokage," He paused to grab his sword from its case, "I think you'd better get over your silly little dream of getting me back to normal."

The sky crackled a long string of lightning, and lit, seemingly, the whole world white. The rain started to pour down, and Sasuke laughed menacingly, "I have someone to resurrect my clan with. I have my small team. I have something to look forward to after this. You don't if you don't get rid of me. So, do it." Thunder rolled, and the earth quaked. Madara had come down from the top of the Hokage building. He strolled calmly past Naruto, earning a growl from the fox, and went straight to Sasuke. "It's almost time, Sasuke-san. I think you need to kill your little fox friend."

Sasuke smirked, "Of course." With that, he sent lightning down his sword and motioned Madara to go stand away from him, closer to the only tree left standing. Naruto yelled, running full speed toward, Sasuke beginning his newly learned Rasengan Shuriken and threw it at full force. Using the last bit of his chakra, Naruto fainted quickly after. As the powerful Jutsu came closer to Sasuke, he acted as if he was throwing his sword where Naruto once was, and true to his amazing aim, the sword hit his target. Madara was killed; the lightning infused sword had pierced the Akatsuki member in the heart.

As the sword left his fingertips, the Rasengan hit him, knocking him out. The lighting crackled again, and the bijuu fell, with Madara dead, the monster had no master and was therefore useless. All the chakras held inside the fiend were released into the sky, never to be found again.

* * *

Sasuke stared outside the hospital window as Yamato rebuilt the town's buildings once again. Few were actually destroyed, but so many were missing, the 'wood master' would be needed. He watched intently, wondering how tiring it actually was to be the sole person rebuilding a whole town. Sasuke did know how tiring it was to be the sole Uchiha, though, and it was intimidating as well.

No matter how much he hated to admit, at some times he wondered what it would be like if was normal. If he had a normal life, a normal family, and a normal best friend. The fight between him and Naruto broke out randomly, mostly because he had been in the process of murdering his replacement, Sai. Naruto had yelled random crap at Sasuke and sent a kunai spiraling toward his head.

Missing by a few centimeters, Sasuke caught it in his palm and averted his attention from Sai to Naruto. He flicked the steel weapon back to Naruto with more force, hitting his target with ease. Naruto had only grimaced as he removed the kunai, but Sasuke could see the pain he was sending to Naruto. He didn't care; he wanted to rid himself from such and annoyance. Naruto released some nine-tailed chakra, and that officially began the fight.

In Sasuke's opinion, neither of them went to their full, but apparently he had gone too far, because his friend was in intensive care. Instead of feeling satisfied as he usually would've, the Uchiha felt a tad bit guilty. He never wanted to send Naruto off the edge like that, but he had to seem serious when fighting him in order to convince Madara that he was serious about killing Naruto. Of course, he wasn't. He hadn't forgotten all those 'bonds' as Naruto called them, but more often that not, Sasuke had allowed himself to be swallowed up by hatred.

Before arriving at the gates, Sasuke had mapped out his plan. He would go around with Madara creating havoc in Konoha, pretending to be on his side for the Fourth Ninja War, knocking people unconscious but never killing them. He had no problem killing random people who had no idea who they were, but people from his and his brother's home village? That he had a problem with, even if he didn't admit it.

Focusing back on what was occurring outside the window, he cursed inwardly for caring so much. Why did he care about this dumb village so much? Well, despite the obvious, he couldn't think of any other reason.

Sakura strolled down the winding hall, with her heels clicking rhythmically. _Click, clock, click, clock_. She was upset that Tsunade just _had _to assign her to be Sasuke's personal nurse until she decided to let her stop, but she kept a happy face on. She was disappointed in all that Sasuke had done—specifically to Naruto—but she was determined to be friendly and not be a total ice cube toward the guy. That's the least he owes her, and knowing Sasuke, he won't give unless he gets first. She sighed quietly to herself, and began swinging the basket of apples she was carrying. The last time she brought apples to Sasuke's hospital room, he'd stepped on them. Now, that was a heartbreaker.

Still she brought apples anyway, just because she was hungry. Tapping on the door three quick times, she waited to hear the usual, "Open it," order from Sasuke. Within a few seconds, she heard the stoic voice, and she opened the door while grabbing the clipboard that contained all of his information. She scanned it, the same as everyday, just to check for something new; Blood Type: AB, Height: 168 cm, Weight: 52.2 kg…broken left leg, six broken ribs, right wrist joint and three fingers broken, slight head concussion….and a broken right ankle. Nothing new had been added so she smiled placing her basket of apples on a table and sat in the spinning doctor's chair.

Sasuke watched playfully as the girl spun unconsciously in the chair, a small smile across her face. She did this every morning since she was released from the hospital, yet today she seemed different. When her delicate small hand reached for an apple, he realized what was different. She hadn't talked to him at all yet, and she brought apples. "I don't want a goddamn apple," He said, folding his bandaged arms. Sakura stopped in mid-bite, and scowled, "Who said I brought them for you?"

She took a bite, and continued going over his papers as he stared with an eyebrow cocked, confused. Why wouldn't she be Sakura and just give him an apple even though he said he didn't want one? He continued scrutinizing her actions to himself, but was stopped when Sakura rose abruptly and said, "I don't have a clue as to how the hell you're going to walk, Sasuke." He grunted. Sasuke Uchiha would find a way and he sure wasn't going to be in a stupid wheelchair. Oh, no, not a person in the world would look down on him.

The sun started lighting up the room, and Sasuke instinctively covered his eyes. The girl laughed at his reaction, "Still afraid of light, I see?" She controlled her giggles and commanded, "Give me your arm." Sakura had never given Sasuke a shot in the past week, nor had she touched him at all. The only thing Sasuke thought Sakura had been chosen to do was stay in his room and be annoying company.

The boy looked up into her emerald eyes as he crossed his arms in defiance. No heartbroken fan girl was going to give him a shot. It didn't matter how un-fan girly she had become. Sakura glared back at him and pulled at his arm forcefully, causing a small groan of defeat to come from Sasuke's lips. She held tight to his wrist in case he decided to be a baby again. She had never known such a strong shinobi to be afraid of getting a shot. Sakura wasn't even going to give Sasuke a shot. However, he didn't know that, and Sakura almost laughed at the look on his face as she pulled needles from a drawer.

His eyes bulged out of his head. "Like hell you'll give me a shot," He murmured, attempting to keep his 'cool' façade under control. Sakura smiled, "What was that?" She attached a needle to a syringe with one hand expertly, and pushed it causing the medical liquid to flow out. Sasuke ripped his wrist from her surprisingly strong grip. "You're not giving me a shot," He ordered, Sharigan threatening to form. Sakura busted out laughing, holding her stomach to keep from falling over.

Sasuke stared nonchalantly at the childish joke. "I don't believe you're afraid to get a shot, Sasuke! It doesn't even hurt." He rolled his eyes, keeping his face cool. "Am I getting a shot or not?" He asked. The girl shook her head from left to right indicating that he in fact wasn't going to get a shot today. "I'm just going to check your pulse and stuff." Sasuke noticeably relaxed and gave her his arm willingly. She checked his pulse as promised, and checked how he reacted when she bent each of his broken fingers individually. He flinched when she bent his pinky, but that was the worst of it.

Sakura sat in her seat, and jotted some things down on the clipboard. Sasuke watched how her eyes darted back and forth with intent. He couldn't put his finger on what was different about her yet, despite the obvious. He couldn't deny that Sakura _had_ matured. She matured very well actually. He liked how her pink tresses framed her porcelain face and flowed down just below her shoulders, how her forehead didn't seem as huge, how her eyes sparkled, her smarts glowed, how her lips separated slightly and pouted when she was thinking, how her waist was the smallest but she had hips, and he especially liked that she actually had cleavage. However, he wouldn't admit any of that, and was sure that every guy in Konoha had noticed these things. He couldn't have been the only one to notice she wasn't a girl anymore.

Sakura felt Sasuke's eyes studying her, and felt too uncomfortable for her liking. She could handle any other guy sizing her up, but Sasuke Uchiha was a different case. She lost all feeling for him a while back when she confessed to Naruto—she wasn't lying though everyone said she was. Still, his onyx orbs felt awkward watching her. Sakura ignored the feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach and finished her last sentence. "Okay, Sasuke, I basically wrote that you're doing great and you just need some more stitches and a couple more weeks bed rest. Is that okay?"

Her sudden speaking made him come back into reality and he replied, "Aa….can't I get out of this prison earlier?" Sakura shrugged, answering. She grabbed another apple and tossed Sasuke an apple as well. "Eat you're apple and ask for one next time."

She clicked out the room without saying 'goodbye' and Sasuke watched her back as she walked calmly away. Taking a bite of the apple, he grumbled, "Like hell I'll actually ask for a goddamn apple."

* * *

A/N: Do you like it? My other story, _Just Close Your Eyes and Wish_ has been put on hold because I can't think of anything else that makes sense! I mean, I was trying to stay current with the Manga with that story, but I somewhat just wrote my death note in trying to do that. Anyway, unless I think of an idea, it's officially discontinued.

The first part was in the past…it's like a prelude or a giant flashback that belongs to no one. I think that's all the fights I'll be writing for a while because I suck at writing those, in my opinion. Back to the point, I just love how I tied everything together, how about you?

What do you think? I'm about four or five chapters in planning, but I just started writing the second a couple of minutes ago.

Happy Veteran's Day! (Review!)

NaruBaby2496

(Next Chapter: Three Days…hopefully)


	2. Chapter 2

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 2

* * *

The room was dark, the soft glow of green and blue chakra was the only light in the intensive care unit, and Tsunade and her team were working nonstop to care for Naruto. He had had his chakra flow stopped almost completely, and his heart stunned to a scary low pulse. Almost every bone in his body was broken, and needed to be healed by the best. Sakura was sweating beads, and determination screamed from her mind. She couldn't stop and let Naruto die because he had completed his promise to her. No. She couldn't let that happen.

Sakura's parents, the bright red haired Rei, and the white haired Shishou were just as focused as Sakura because they too understood the pain Naruto had been through for their daughter, and they couldn't let that succeeded attempt go to waste. As Sakura focused, her glow brightened intensely, and Tsunade watched with pride. Sakura was going to save her friend. "Okay everybody! His vitals are reacting! Don't give up now!" Rei announced, following Sakura's lead and forcing the last of her chakra into the fox.

The room was now lit, and so was hope.

* * *

Shikamaru sat lazily next to the Emergency door, and mentally cussed himself out. He shouldn't have let Naruto know their real plans of killing Sasuke. This just poured more fuel on the already blazing fire and now he was in a critical condition. Shikamaru kept on making mistakes and his friends kept suffering. Sakura was doing a better job than he was at this point. At least she could juggle healing both Sasuke and Naruto. Shikamaru could hardly stay awake for an hour without nodding off.

Konohamaru sat as well, but anxious. He was twitchy as he waited nervously for his 'big brother' to burst through those doors with a bright smile, giving him a bear hug. He had assisted Shikamaru in killing Suigetsu, doing his best not to just be a burden. Of course being 'just a new Genin' his confidence wasn't as high as it could've been, but he got a couple of punches and kicks in on the guy, so he couldn't be prouder.

Of course, Konohamaru was just being modest in thinking that he did nothing. The kid had killed one of Pain's dummies. Shikamaru couldn't be gladder that Konohamaru had come when he did. If it weren't for the boy, he would've been in the same position as Naruto right now. "Shikamaru, do you think Naruto did the right thing not killing Sasuke?" Konohamaru asked, breaking the dead silence.

Being awakened from his little nap, Shikamaru glared at the boy for a second, but quickly got over it. "I don't. Sasuke is still a criminal and many Kages want him dead even though he killed Madara."

"Well, I have to disagree. I actually think its good Sasuke is still alive." Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow, and sat up to hear the boy clearer. He motioned for him to continue. "If it weren't for Sasuke, Naruto wouldn't be much to look up to. He's worked so hard to get Sasuke back, and no that he's actually here, I think that he'll be more competitive than ever. Especially since he obviously lost this time." Konohamaru laughed a little even though he was sincerely worried. He'd never seen Naruto so beat up before.

Shikamaru cleared his throat, "I don't want to argue with a little kid, but I'm sure Naruto would've gotten over his man crush and Sakura would've gotten over her false love."

"What do you mean 'they would've got over it'?! You're not over Asuma being dead, are you?! And he was just you're sensei! Imagine if your own teammate killed your best friend! Yeah, you sure would 'get over it'!" Konohamaru screamed, with a touch of sarcasm, throwing his arms in the air.

Shikamaru crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "I'm not arguing with a little kid."

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that someone is doing something for the good of the world! Even a kid can figure out that once Sasuke's good again the world will be good again! How, the fuck, do you not understand that?!"

"Who the hell do you think you are, kid?!"

A nearby receptionist skidded by and shushed them with a chubby finger. The woman was quite hairy and bigger than Choji, so the boys (after they got over their disgust) silenced themselves and obeyed her order. The woman stomped away, causing a nearby glass to fall from a counter.

Shikamaru face palmed himself and Konohamaru laughed. "I'm sorry. I just think that you should worry about yourself, Konohamaru. You have your own twelve-year-old business to handle," Shikamaru apologized.

Konohamaru smiled, "Yeah. Just don't kill Sasuke or I'm hunting you down." The two laughed, and continued to count the minutes until Naruto was released. Silence spread through the hall and Konohamaru added with a serious face, "I'm not playing."

* * *

A week had passed and Naruto was now out of intensive care and in normal care, being checked on every other day by Hilda, the scary nurse, Naruto called her. Shikamaru had said that he and Konohamaru saw her create an earthquake while waiting for him to come out of intensive care during a visit. He enjoyed the company of all his friends, but the absence of one worried him, and so did the loud yelling upstairs.

Sasuke was sitting calmly in a wooden chair as Tsunade yelled at him for being such an 'uncontrollable nuisance with no sense of right and wrong.' Sasuke could care less about what the sake-addicted woman said, and stared nonchalantly at her temper tantrum, only listening in on parts he cared about—which was barely something.

"First you come prancing in here like you're the king of the world and sit in my chair! Who do you think you are Uchiha? The comfortable chair is only to seat people I trust. You get that wooden chair! I'm here to give you your punishment and I'm trying to be as nice as possible but you're making quite difficult when you already act as if you've been forgiven. Which you haven't by the way mister smart guy….."

She droned on and on, and Sasuke could barely contain himself from ripping the blonde's face off. He knew what he did so why the hell is she giving him an annoying play by play as if he was blind. He interlaced his fingers in his trademark way and placed his head on his hands, grimacing.

"…and everyone is trying so hard not to kick your ass! You know, I get complaints about how horrible and arrogant you've been to everyone, and you haven't stepped out of the hospital! I have a good mind to just throw you into a cellar and lock you up!"

Sasuke met her angered gaze and yawned, "Then why don't you?" The comment accidently slipped out of the boy's mouth and it angered the woman further. Sasuke muttered, "Shit."

"Maybe I will! You know what—you have probation for a year, house arrest for six months, disallowed to go on missions for three months, and disallowed to leave the village for the whole year. If you do any of these things, you'll be sentenced to life in prison or, if you prefer, death. Any other changes will be discussed later. You can leave, Uchiha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked calmly out of the office. That woman had anger issues, and if he pressed any more buttons, he'd surely be dead and gone. Clicking the door closed, he bumped into Sakura, who was about to open the door. "Konichiwa, Sasuke. I heard Tsunade yelling and…." She trailed off, listening closer into what was going on in the office. She could hear Tsunade opening another bottle of sake, and muttering curses toward the Uchiha. She giggled, "You don't get it do you, Sasuke?" She asked.

Looking down at her and ignoring her question he said, "You want to go get something to eat?" Sakura lifted an eyebrow and started to speak, only to be interrupted by Sasuke dragging her down the hall by her hand. She struggled to keep in step with him, and tripped a couple times.

Sasuke had never asked her to do anything with him, and now all of the sudden he wanted to go get food with her. She guessed his harsh punishment really got through to him.

After a few moments of failing horribly and tripping, Sakura decided she didn't like being dragged around the whole village as Sasuke searched hopelessly for food. "S-Sasuke let go of my hand!" She yelled, after tripping once again. Sasuke turned harshly to face her, and released her hand. "Are you happy?" She clicked her tongue while rolling her eyes.

Just when she thought the ice cube was starting to melt, he stuck something new up his ass. Crossing her arms she mimicked his tone, "Yes, are you _happy_?"

The wind blew causing a few distraught leaves to scratch on the pavement, creating that annoying screeching noise. Both of the teens stood across from each other, one with arms crossed, one with hands in pockets and both glaring at the other. Sasuke broke the wall of glaring with a small smile, although he covered it, pretending to scratch his nose, "Yes, thank you."

The girl's anger melted as fast as his did, and she stood dumbfounded. "Oh….okay. Well, um, let's go get some ramen then." Sasuke curtly nodded his head, and walked slightly ahead of her, insisting to lead the way. Sakura looked up toward him in confusion. She knew she saw him smile, or at least that's what was being attempted, but at what? Her mind raced, trying to think of something plausible. Ino must have been walking behind her, and tripped, sending her and her flowers to the ground. That show would've made anyone laugh. They were also by the flower shop, so Sakura allowed herself to think that.

The pair walked close to each other, and unconsciously walked in step with one another. A few stray people stopped there act to watch the couple as the cutely walked together, sometimes bumping shoulders blushing slightly in embarrassment of touching, and continuing to talk solemnly until they neared the ramen stand.

As they rounded the corner to the food stand and sat, the sun had begun to set, and Tsuchi was beginning to close. "Oh, hi Sakura-chan. No Naruto tonight?" The old man asked with a cheery smile. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, answering for Sakura sharply, "No Naruto. Just _me_ and Sakura." He grimaced; disgusted by the fact the man didn't even greet him and implied that Sakura had come here often with Naruto—willingly.

Tsuchi jumped in surprise (and fear) but smiled nonetheless, "Oh. Hello, Uchiha-san," He handed both of the teens a menu and chirped, "just get me when you're ready to order." Sasuke refrained another quick comment, and grabbed the menu, keeping his cold glare on the man for another moment. The older quickly turned, and Sasuke then cleared his throat.

He glanced at Sakura, who was scanning the menu cautiously, and held his gaze for a few moments longer than he wanted. "Yeah, Sasuke?" Sakura questioned, continuing to flip through the two pages, searching for something within her price range. She'd only had about five dollars in her pocket and most every thing filling was fifteen. She sighed, closed the menu and faced her teammate. He was still searching for something logical to say, and focusing on her eyes, let himself memorize every speck of gold in them. He blurted, "Were those Granny Smith's?"

Her pink eyebrow rose in speculation. "What?" Tsuchi, from the background, chuckled at their conversation, but continued preparing noodles. Sasuke's eyes darted everywhere, and he smirked, "The apples from last week. Were they Granny Smith?" She relaxed and nodded her head, slowly, "Yeah. They were."

"Aa. I like those."

Sakura scrunched up her face and asked, "Why? I mean—whatever—forget about it. Are you ready to order?" He nodded and folded his menu back, subconsciously criticizes himself. That was the best thing he could think of. He told Tsuchi his and Sakura's order, and laid his head on the counter, letting his all his lack of sleep take over him. "What are the terms of your probation, Sasuke?" Sakura asked casually, slurping a noodle from a meal out of her price range.

She had felt somewhat…guilty taking the huge bowl of beef ramen with dumplings to call her own without paying, but after a few moments of inhaling the delicious smell, she allowed that thought to disappear. The asked lifted his head from the table and rubbed his eyes. "Hn, it lasts a year. For six months I have house arrest, I can't go on missions for three, and disallowed to leave the village for the whole year."

He grabbed his tea and took a long sip, closing his eyes engulfing himself in the taste. He let out a satisfied 'aaah' and opened his eyes again, returning his gaze to the girl. "Shouldn't you be in your house then?"

Sasuke looked at her studiously for a moment then spoke, "Tsunade didn't tell me which to do first. Since I have six months of house arrest and no missions for three, which leaves an additional three months to do whatever I want. I'm taking advantage." He smirked proud of the loophole he had found, and waited for Sakura to feel the same. "I'm sure she said those in that order for a reason."

"Hn. Depends how you look at it."

Sakura gulped down the last of the broth and slid the bowl towards Tsuchi. She slipped down into the chair, stretching her back. "Ugh…thanks Sasuke. I'll pay you back, I promise." She stood, walking away, and leaving Sasuke at the stand alone.

The man hurriedly laid down more money than needed on the counter and took a few strides to catch up to Sakura. "You don't have to." She looked up to him, and smiled. "Um, no. I think I will. Thanks," She noticed that he was still following her, walking in the opposite direction to that of his house and added, "I can walk myself three minutes to my apartment, too."

Sasuke grunted, "Of course you can. However, it's dark, and I have no where else to go. So I'm walking you to your house." He nudged her shoulder lightly, "And you can't make me change my mind."

She nudged back and smiled, "Yeah, I figured that one out, Sasuke."

The moon rose high in the sky, and a dark figure watched the two from the cover of a tree. He turned and whispered to his partner, "Keep them separate. They might pose a problem." The smaller partner nodded, placing his ROOT mask back on his face. He disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving his sensei on the tree alone to watch the couple. "We can't let our Sasuke-kun get too attached…."

* * *

A/N: Oh em gee! This is popular story by my standards! Thanks you people! Two day out and almost one hundred hits! That's like…fifty a day! Wow! I now that's nothing to some people but—gee williekers! I'm just so excited.

Anyway, I introduced a bad guy. Two bad guys. LOL that's all I'm going to say. This chapter was made early, mainly because it was relatively simple.

Review!

Lots of love

NaruBaby2496


	3. Chapter 3

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 3

For some pictures of Sasuke's House click on the link:

.com/art/Uchiha-Household-143513348

* * *

"I _think_ I know how to change bandages, Sakura." He said, with arrogance. Sitting down on his living room couch, he picked at the adhesive material, although it barely gave way. The rosette plopped next to him and threw the new roll of gauze at his head. "I _don't_ think you know how to. You've been at that for ten minutes," She corrected, wagging a finger. Sasuke looked at her with a smirk, "Give me ten more. I'll be done before Kakashi even thinks of showing up to training." Sakura shrugged her shoulders, and hopped off the couch with exuberance. "Fine. Have it your way," reaching into her medical bag, she tossed staples, medical glue and a needle and thread in his direction, "We'll see how well you do at taking out your stitches."

Sasuke tilted his head with his mouth gaping. She mirrored his expression for a few moments until he smirked, "Alright, Sakura." She smiled back, and walked to his kitchen, searching for something to eat.

Sakura had come over his house about a half hour ago to change his bandages and replace his stitches. He had decided to take his three months of freedom now—a decision Sakura thought was not thought out and quick—and they were going to go to practice in the field with Naruto and Kakashi. Sai was off with Yamato, working on an independent mission.

She found some juice, and examined the expiration date. She groaned, thinking, _This was old three years ago._ Taking the carton out of the refrigerator with a forefinger and pinky, she grimaced, finally smelling it. "Gross…," Sakura whispered watching the lumps of goop go down the sink. Sasuke, who had turned around to watch the feat with his obsidian eyes, chuckled lightly to himself. Shyly, she turned to him with a red face, "I wasn't doing anything."

He turned back around to the television, and flipped the channels, "If we're still going to training, you better do your nurse thing." Sakura put her hands on her hips and walked toward him. Sitting on the arm of the couch, she grabbed his arm, looking at where he'd poked himself multiple times with the needle, she teased, "Now, you seriously wonder why people say you're Emo."

* * *

Naruto wiped sweat from his brow, lounging back and creating the pattern of hand signs once again. Running at full speed, he created three clones on either side of him, and focused his chakras into Sage Mode. Each clone got the chakras slowly, and Naruto yelled in exertion. He pulled his arm back, creating his Rasengan attempting to send each wind Jutsu to all the clones.

Just like the last time, he fell, at that moment, on his butt. Creating another thud on the ground, he rubbed his hindquarters, and sighed. "Did I get closer that time, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, waiting for the answer with enthusiastic eyes.

Although he was just released from the hospital yesterday, he had run with a limp to the training grounds this morning, arriving two hours early. Having been working on the same chakra depriving Jutsu since then, he'd stripped down to his ninja mesh and orange pants, throwing the soaking wet shirt and jacket in the grass.

Placing his perverted book lower, the gray haired man answered, "A little. I think it'd be best for you to stop now, though, seeing that you got out the hospital less than thirty-six hours ago." Naruto pouted and slouched his shoulders in defeat. "Kakashi-sensei! If I'm going to get better and become Hokage, I need to be able to do a kick-ass Jutsu while hurt and low on chakra! That's the only thing I _haven't_ learned yet!" He complained, stomping his foot at the end for emphasis.

Kakashi smiled lightly at his act and laughed, "You won't be Hokage if you kill yourself trying too hard." The boy crossed his arms and plunked down to the ground. After rationalizing all of what Kakashi said, he shrugged his shoulders. "Where're Sakura-chan and Teme?" The sky was a perfect blue, without a cloud in sight, the birds were chirping and the sun was hot but not too hot. The perfect spring day, in Naruto's opinion.

"They're over there," the man pointed with a suggestive smile, "I wonder why they're so late." Naruto turned around, and honest to his word, black and pink could be seen walking toward the training grounds. Thought he secretly was jealous his Sakura had suddenly become so attached to Sasuke again, and it seemed like she just forgot about him.

However, this was a complete lie—Sakura had visited him everyday while he was in the hospital, brought him ramen whenever he asked (got the order right) and made sure Hilda didn't kill him on 'accidental'. Naruto was still slightly coldhearted toward Sasuke for beating his ass, and couldn't wait to get his turn to win. He would win and win well.

The two turned into the opening and the girl was the first to greet. "Naruto-kun! I'm so glad you're better!" She ran to his open arms and hugged him tightly. Sasuke stayed behind, glaring at Naruto. With his hands in his pockets, he attempted to have some type of restraint, and that was biting his tongue until it bled. He swore that if Naruto didn't release Sakura in the next ten seconds, someone was getting a charred face.

"Sasuke. You know, staring at his back won't do anything," Kakashi referred to the glaring, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder as a parent would, "….you and Sakura are close now, eh?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, staring at Kakashi now, "I kind of have to be. She's with me all the time. I don't really have a choice, Kakashi." The man with the mask shook Sasuke a little, smiling, "Yeah, yeah, yeah; you say that now. Once she's not required to come to your house everyday, you'll miss her," Kakashi cleared his throat with a smile, "Anyway; Naruto needs a training partner that'll give a fair fight."

Sasuke grunted. Naruto sure will get a fair fight now, especially since he's pissed the hell off at him. He frowned walking closer to his best friend, ready to punch. Naruto noticed the look on Sasuke's face, and pushed Sakura aside. "Teme! You want to get your ass kicked already?" He asked smiling arrogantly. Sasuke removed his fist from his pocket, and socked the boy across the face.

Jumping back, Naruto grabbed his jaw and yelled, "What the hell is your problem, Sasuke!? I was playing!"Sasuke ambushed Naruto, strangling him successfully, until Naruto fought back. The two rolled, attacking each other mercilessly.

After hearing an all to pain filled groan, Sakura stopped her long rant about Sasuke's refrigerator she was telling to Kakashi, and turned to the boys. "You guys! Can't you act civilized?" She stomped to the two, separating them from each other with a quick, powerful shove. Placing a hand on both of their heaving chests, she stood between them. "You've been her for a month, Sasuke! Is that your time limit until you have to kill someone without a reason?"Her glare was slicing through his, until his Sharigan dissipated and he looked softly into the girl's eyes. She smiled back, and then turned to Naruto, letting the glare return, "And what is you're problem, Naruto! Now is _not_ the time to fight with _any_one on our team! We have to become a team again. "

Silence stirred in the air, and Kakashi had but down his drama filled book to watch this. Sakura studied them both with her emerald eyes, until she turned dramatically away from them, tears rolling down her face. The boys watched her walk away, obviously disappointed, and exchanged glances. "Sakura-chaaan! Come on, we're sorry!" Naruto yelled chasing after the girl without second thoughts. Sasuke was left in the field alone, sorting out all his thoughts. Walking in circles, fists clenched, thinking, he whacked a tree causing it to crack down the middle, and ran in the direction his teammates went. "Sakura!" He yelled, trying to remember the path.

Kakashi pulled out a pencil, jotting down the events that happened. "Wow…I think I'll schedule more practices on Thursdays…."

* * *

Sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, Sakura held her head in her face, panting. She couldn't believe two 'best friends' couldn't just be eighteen and get over their differences already. If she could juggle creating and maintaining a steady relationship with the both of them, they should be able to do that with just themselves.

Was that really to much to ask for?

She wiped away her angry tears and studied her surroundings. She had ran significantly far from the village and probably out of it. She then could guarantee that Sasuke wouldn't go and try to fix things. That had epic fail written all over it. The forest was beginning to fall asleep, as were the young children of the village, and she watched the sunset calmly.

Hearing quiet steps trying to conceal themselves, she grabbed a kunai from the inside of her boot and turned to the noise. "I'm a ninja," She warned, squinting her eyes attempting to see an outline of a body. Failing she warned again, "Show yourself!" The man walked from behind trees and bushes, and walked with his head bowed in humility to the girl.

Sakura frowned and looked ahead, away from Sasuke, and to the only star that dared show itself. She bit her thumb out of habit, something she did when she didn't know what to do. The teen sat next to Sakura, following her gaze and looking at the star. He scratched his ear out of nerves, and thought about what he was going to do.

They sat close silently, looking at the star together, but thinking about what to do. "You aren't allowed to be outside of the village, Sasuke," Sakura said, continuing to keep her gaze away. She couldn't look at him without a vivid flashback of her team falling apart again. He pursed his lips, leaning back, using his hands for support, "I know."

She closed her eyes in shock, turning her head in his direction she replied, voice serious, "Don't pull any BS." Looking at her, he smirked, "Okay…I'm completely clueless as to why I'm here, and I don't think finding you was worth it."

Sakura smiled, her eyes dancing with the lights and shadows created by the sun. "Why're you being so nice to me Sasuke? You don't have to," she leaned on his shoulder, embracing him. "I noticed what was in front of me, that's all."

"Can I ask another question, Sasuke?"

He lifted an eyebrow, indicating for her to continue. "Have you gotten what you wanted in life?" He shrugged his shoulders, sighing. He stared at her affectionately, gently rubbing a pink eyelash off her check, "I guess you can say I haven't."

She laughed, ruining the romantic scene. "What?" He asked, regaining composure and scooting an inch away from her. Sakura giggled some more, creating jingles to echo throughout the empty forest. "You better not be serious, otherwise I'll kick your ass."

"Hn. I doubt that'll happen," He responded getting up and offering a hand to pull her up. She accepted, and bounced up with a goofy smile. "Yeah, it will. And you know why I'll do that?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, kicked a couple of stones away, and started building up his usual self back up again. There was silence as the two walked together into the village. Sakura guessed she wouldn't get another word out of him, so she answered, "That was the most random show of emotions. Ever."

Sasuke clicked his tongue, "Said the girl that gave the worst confession ever to Naruto." She gasped and placed her hands on her hips. She didn't believe he even played that card. "Be that way Sasuke!" She laughed, "Now I'm not going to talk to you until I get home."

"Aa," He responded, sarcastically. After ten minutes of silently walking through the town, Sakura asked, "What'd you do with Naruto?"

* * *

"I don't believe he tied me to a tree…..with my own shoelaces….," Naruto complained, training to grab the aglet. He failed miserably and let his head fall. "Sasuke is such a teme…"

* * *

A/N: Ugh…this is short. I don't like it! I had like a super writer's block. My brain just got stuck on dialogue mode. And stayed.

This is terrible.

Sorry, you guys!

Review….

NaruBaby2496


	4. Chapter 4

All's Fair In Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 4

Oops, the link was messed up before. Oh well. Have fun imagining how his house looks. LOL

* * *

The sun creaked awake, sending its waves of light stretching across the sky, creating streaks of orange, pink, and blue to show through the once darkness. The birds flew up from their nests, squawking as the glided. This was the one moment of serenity Tsunade truly had during the day, except when she had her sake, and she scanned over the village.

A few windows were opening up, a few doors were daring to squeak as men and women left early for their mission of the day, and the cries of waking babies were soon heard after. This was the part of day that Tsunade wished lasted longer, but it ended quickly. Her telephone rang, the red light buzzing. It was a Kage calling. "Godaime Tsunade, what's your emergency?" She answered, sounding stoic. She was to say that whenever she answered the phone—it gets tiresome.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Tsunade-sama. One of my ninjas was out last night and mentioned they saw Sasuke-san outside the village premises—were you aware?"Gaara spoke into the phone. His voice was calm and polite as always these days, but that didn't change the seriousness of the topic. "Oh, no, I wasn't. I'll have to ask some of my ninjas if they noticed. If you don't mind me asking, who was this shinobi who informed you, Gaara?"

The line went silent for a moment, and Tsunade heard papers ruffling in the background. The young red headed ninja was looking for the note he wrote on the woman who had informed him. Within a few seconds, Gaara answered, "I'm sorry…I've lost the little note I wrote on her. She did have glasses, if that helps any, Tsunade. Anyway, I got the letter about the conditions of Sasuke's probation, has it been put into effect?"

Tsunade sighed, jotting down the small description. She was going to call in her ninjas and ask them to list the names of young women they knew that had glasses. She would narrow the names down from there. "Yes it has, I'm afraid," She answered. Gaara heard the anguish in her voice, and comforted, "It'll be alright, Tsunade-sama. If I remember correctly, you don't have to assassinate him."

"Either way, Team 7 would be majorly affected," she sighed.

Gaara chuckled slightly, "As will I. Shall I inform the other Kages once you make your decision, or will you?" Tsunade rubbed her temple, pressing the button that called Shizune into the room. Soon she answered, "I will, Gaara, thank you. It might take a while to decide."

"I understand. Sayonara, Godaime."

"Sayonara," She hung up the phone, and searched her drawers for some more sake. Having run out, she slammed her head on the desk dramatically. She had so much already to think of, and now she had to consider the present and the future outcomes. Why did she allow herself to become so close to Sakura and Naruto, the girl who was in love with the criminal, and the boy who was best friends with him? Now she has their emotional pain to deal with.

However, she concluded, the village is bigger than just two people are. Shizune knocked on the door, and entered with Ton Ton, smiling. "Good morning, Tsunade-sama! You wanted me?" Tsunade sat up, a look of determination, fear, and worry on her face, "Get me Haruno Sakura."

* * *

Sakura laughed with her best friend, Ino, after returning from an early bird shopping spree. They didn't buy anything of course, because then that would take away half the fun of just looking. Passing by a jewelry store Sakura gasped, covering her mouth in awe. In the middle of the display, on the highest pedestal, was an emerald encrusted necklace.

The stones were held by silver, and shaped as squares. After each emerald was a diamond, and after that was a sapphire. The charm was the most beautiful part about the necklace; it had two small silver hearts that were connected, in the middle of each of the hearts was a smaller heart made of either emerald or sapphire. It looked beautiful with the silver, in Sakura's opinion, but there was also a gold variation.

"Wow, Ino, that is the prettiest necklace I've _ever_ seen," Sakura exclaimed, still in wonder. Ino smiled at Sakura's expression and grabbed her hand, guiding her inside the shop, "Yeah, it is really beautiful. Let's find out how much it costs!" The door's bell rang, and the cashier stood ready to attend.

His hair was slicked back in a tacky way, and he looked as plastic as a Barbie. "Good morning, darlings. How could I help you?" Sakura smiled shyly, with her eyes twinkling. "Well, I was kind of wondering how much that necklace in the window costs." The man laughed, and Ino crossed her arms, aggravated at the hidden insult. "How much does it cost? It was a question and we're waiting for an answer."

He regained composure, and brushed his hair with his hand. "If you mean the one of a kind, limited edition Cherish necklace from Ayako Keiko's Winter's Warm Wish line, then that would be 76,149.50 yen, or $850.50 in American dollars. Do you have that much on you or will you write a check?" Sakura and Ino's mouths gaped open for moments until Shizune waltzed in with a note from Tsunade.

She read off, "'Sakura-chan, please see me in my office, I have to talk to you about something. Do not bring anyone or anything with you. Love, Tsunade-sensei.'" She smiled, and then walked away promptly. Sakura rose a curious eyebrow to Ino, showing she didn't know what was going on. "I'm sorry. I guess we have to continue our shopping some other day, Pig."

Ino shrugged, smiling lightly, "Yeah, of course. Maybe you'll get your necklace on your birthday—it's next Friday, right?"

Sakura smiled, "No. My birthday is on Tuesday, the party is on Friday. Remember to tell everyone—okay?" She opened the the door and strolled swiftly to the office. Her friend nodded even though Sakura couldn't see and turned back to the man. "Are you sure we can't get some type of discount? I'm a frequent costumer…"

* * *

Walking back from her meeting with Tsunade, Sakura kept her head down, and held tears in, thinking of the most recent.

"_Oi, I didn't think you'd make it here so quickly, Sakura-chan. Take a seat; I want to ask you a few questions." She did as told, sitting cautiously in the chair provided. Tsunade hardly ever started a conversation like that, so Sakura was already a little shaken. She smiled, then, showing she was ready for Tsunade to continue._

"_Well, I found out this morning that Sasuke was outside the village last night around six, and didn't return until about seven. Did you know anything about that?" Sakura's eyes widened, but she quickly hid her surprise. They were serious about making sure that Sasuke stayed inside premises. They were no more than five minutes from the gate. Sakura mumbled, "No, I didn't know, Tsunade-sensei." _

_Her teacher looked at her with motherly eyes, and questioned once more, "Are you sure?" The girl nodded solemnly. Tsunade didn't know that Sakura knew what Sasuke's punishment was, so she was curious as to why the rosette was acting so sad before she declared the real news. "As part of Sasuke's probation terms, if he left the village…I would need to—" She was interrupted by Sakura holding in a sob, choking on her own tears. "You're going to kill him, right, Tsunade-sama?" _

_The woman nodded in answer, using all her might not to change her mind because her student was reacting in this way. She would have to tell Naruto as well, and she couldn't be swayed by a small amount of tears. "Do you understand why, Sakura?" The asked wiped the escaping tears from her eyes nodding, "Yeah. He broke his probation and is a criminal and threat to the other villages if not disciplined properly for all that he has done in the past." _

_A cloud rolled over the sun at that moment, casting darkness over Konoha. Tsunade pursed her lips, "Do you understand that you can't tell anyone Sakura? Not even Sasuke." _

_The girl frowned, "Yeah. Is that all, Tsunade-sama?"The blonde smiled sadly, "Yes, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry."_

_Sakura rose, bowing respectfully, "I understand." Watching as Sakura left quietly, Tsunade rubbed her temples with a sigh and picked up her telephone to make another call. _

Holding herself in her own arms in attempt to keep it all together until she made it home, Sakura shook her head left and right. She couldn't believe that she was always creating problems for the ones she cared most about, and this time she was going to get this person killed by death sentence.

Sakura bumped into a hard surface, and looked up to see just the person she wanted, Sasuke. Her eyes trembled, unable to focus on his gaze. She closed her eyes, blinking away tears, and met his gaze. "What's wrong, Sakura?" Sasuke asked eyebrows bunched together from concern. The girl smiled lightly and patted the Uchihas shoulder, "I'm fine, Sasuke."

He removed her hand softly, crossing his arms. His dark eyes bored into hers with a, almost brotherly fear in them, and asked again, "What's wrong?" She looked away thinking of a quick lie. She pulled her hair behind her ear, and bit her lip. "I-I have to work triple shifts all this week, that's all. I'm pretty stressed out." He watches her a little longer to see any sign of untruth, then warns, "Don't work too hard, you still have to take care of me, you know."

She smiled lightly as he walked away and waited until his figure faded into the background when she let out a painful sigh.

* * *

Rei studied her daughter at the dinner table, barely eating her own. "What's wrong, Blossom?" She asked Sakura, touching the side of her face affectionately. Sakura had arrived home an hour ago, earlier than she should have, which worried her mother already, and to add to that worry, the rosette hadn't even smiled within the sixty minutes.

The fire from the fireplace flickered the room orange, and the heat on Sakura's face didn't fancy her. She had just approved Sasuke's death note, and now she had hidden it. Whether he liked her romantically or not, they were at least friends, and it was the worst thing in her book to do to any one. It was a Hokage order, though, and she had to follow. The girl rubbed her eye, "Nothing is wrong Mom. I'm just stressed out."

"It's hard being a medic nin, huh?" Her mother smiled, continuing to eat the soup. Sakura slurped a noodle, "You have no idea, Mommy." Her mom stared at her with a question mark clear on her face. She grabbed her teen's arm and pulled her downstairs to the sound-proof, chakra hiding basement.

The worried mother sat her daughter down on the couch and asked her, "Are you keeping secrets because Tsunade made you, Sakura-chan?" Not knowing what to do, the girl, covered her face, with her hands and started crying. Her expected tears soon became hysterical, and her mom embraced her. She saw a flashback of the old Sakura, the girl who would isolate herself from the world and cry because Sasuke had left her, and prayed that wouldn't happend again. She murmured repeatedley, "Mommy, I can't tell you...I can't." She squezzed her daughter tighter, refusing to let her go. She rocked back and forth, kissing her cheek.

Following her Maternal instict, she knew it had to do with the boy but no where near the same reason as the first time she would cry about Sasuke. "You can always tell those you love and trust, Sakura...always." The teen shook her head viciously, heaving in between the tears. "I can't..." Rei stepped back and held Sakura's head, looking at her daughter with her own green eyes. She wiped every tear away as they fell, and waited for her daughter to calm down before she asked, "It has to do with Sasuke doesn't it?"

Sakura frowned deeply, sniffing, then muttering, "No." Her mother stepped back, studying her expression again, as the girl buried her head in her arms, hiding. Rei turned away and walked up the stairs, "Come up once you calm down, your Father should be back from his mission tonight." She heard Sakura murmur something unrecognizable, then clicked the door shut. Sakura breathed heavily, "I'm so sorry...."

* * *

A/N: OMG! Yes, I made it happen. Sakura is keeping secrets! This can't end well, can it? Read and find out. It was so hard making Sakura be such a liar! I was getting mad at myself for even writing the story--I promise you, I was about to rip up the plot I created using this but then it wouldn't be as unpredictable, I guess, so I decided to keep it. The necklace Sakura wanted doesn't exist as far as I know. I wish it did, though. The yen amount should be accurate....I used a converter. Anyway, keep up with the story! I love all the loyaty. 3 Oh, one question! Does anyone else find it super hard to keep Sasuke in character during a romance? I don't even know if he's in character anymore. :P

Next Chapter….three days? Within three days, okay?

Review!

NaruBaby2496


	5. Chapter 5

All's Fair In Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 5

Um…I only had one review… (btw, thank you TigerPreistess! You're awesome)…I'm not begging but I kind of run off support. So, thanks in advance.

* * *

Sakura arose groggily from her bed, her pink hair matted to her forehead. She cried all night—against her will, believe it or not she hated crying—and destroyed all chances of getting a quality eight hours of sleep. She didn't even know when she went to sleep but judging by the heaviness of her dry eyes, she guessed less than five hours of sleep occurred. She sighed, and placed her feet on her hardwood flooring, reacting almost immediately from the cold. Sakura bunched up again and leaned slightly over to search for her house shoes. True to her horrible luck, they were placed in the farthest corner of her room, under dirty laundry yet to be washed, almost hidden.

Sighing again brushing her hair off her forehead, Sakura glanced at her clock. It was nine-thirty-four. He Mom must've allowed her to sleep late, but this was the worst thing that her Mom could've been nice about. It was Saturday, the day she was _supposed_ to teach him how to make strawberry shortcake. That would've been fun, something great for Sasuke to remember before his D-Day.

She walked toe first heel second to the door and listened for noise. Around this time, her Mom should be in the study (located just around the corner and down the hall from Sakura's room) and she just wanted to check before she ran to grab the scissors from downstairs. Running quietly down each step, she skidded professionally around the corner and opened the drawer without a squeak. Grabbing the scissors, Sakura ran back up the stairs and clicked her door shut, taking a deep breath of air. Crossing her fingers in hope, her Mom hadn't heard anything; she locked the door and walked over to her mirror.

She grabbed a lock of her hair and clipped off a good six inches of hair. Sakura stopped a little in apprehension, but seeing she already cut so much she continued.

Finishing, she assessed her new haircut. It was shorter than she'd ever gone, the ends barely touching her chin, and she cut edgy bangs that fell slightly below her eyebrows. She liked it, but wasn't going to get past her mom with such a drastic change. Quickly, she turned to grab her telephone, but then felt the chill from her cold floor again (finally) and skipped to her house shoes and put them on. Dialing the number programmed into her brain, she practiced her sick voice while the tone beeped in her ears.

"….It's still morning, Sakura-chan! And it's Saturday!" The blonde whined, obviously being woken up by Sakura's call. The girl rolled her eyes, but remembering her façade coughed. This didn't take much work; she did have a killer sore throat from the waterworks lat night. "Naruto can you do me a favor?" Sakura asked, a croak added for effect.

Naruto perked up, "Geez, Sakura. You sound worse than one of the frogs! What do you need?"

Sakura explained the task to Naruto, using as elementary words as possible. He was to go to Sasuke's house and keep his company. That was all. No needles were necessary, no gauze, no medicine, and definitely, absolutely, no 'sleepy juice'. Sakura ended the sermon with a, "Are you sure you can do that, Naruto?"

The boy smiled warmly, "Of course, Sakura-chan. That doesn't sound hard at all." Sakura sniffed, coughing again, "Alright Naruto. See you later?"

"Sayonara, Sakura-chan! Get better before your party, okay?"

Sakura murmured, and hung up the phone. She lay on her, bed, face toward the ceiling, and touched what was left of her hair. What she just did…was not smart.

* * *

Naruto walked cheerfully to his best friend's house, sometimes stopping to wiggle his toes. He was more than happy to be out of those stupid nurse shoes. He'd never thought to learn how to tie his shoes, because ninja sandals didn't have laces and he was definitely going to be a ninja, and now theses people expected him to know how to tie shoes! What was wrong with nurses these days? When you live in a village with ninjas, not everyone knows how to tie their shoes.

It was like trying to explain to two year olds that Barney was a molester when it came to getting through to his nurses.

He reached his friend's house and knocked on the door, only to have the door open on its own. He forgot that Sasuke was ordered to keep his door unlocked during the daylight hours, or whenever he woke up, whichever came first. Naruto stepped into the house carefully, closing the door behind him. Even in the darkness, he could feel the expensiveness of just the foyer. With his hands extended to feel for anything he could bump into, Naruto continued feeling for anything that felt like either a lamp or a light switch. He felt a chair and then carefully sat in it.

Okay, according to the brief explanation of the Uchiha house given to him by Neji, he concluded he was sitting in one of the chairs by the kitchen's island. The prodigies used to be passionate frenemies when younger. Naruto was ecstatic he appeared and stole Neji's spot. It would be just terrible if they were still friends. That'd be bromance on too high of a level for even Naruto to accomplish.

Anyway, Neji also said a couple steps away and to the left of the island was a study, which was were the Uchiha boys usually hung out. Naruto blinked his eyes and saw a faint outline of the grand doors, supposedly opening up to the study. The fox tiptoed to the room and started to grab the handle, being stopped and freaked out of his mind by a hand being placed on his shoulder. "Don't go in there, Naruto," Sasuke muttered, pulling Naruto away from the door, flicking on the light switch. Sasuke had slight bed head, bed head for an Uchiha that is, and wore his pajama pants. Apparently, Sasuke is too cool to sleep with a shirt on.

Naruto grimaced, smiling shortly after, "Hey, Teme! What's going on?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, preformed a few hand signs, and placed his palm on the door. He locked it from the outside, just to insure Naruto didn't get any ideas and try to go inside his Father's study just to see what was inside. That was the only part of the house Sasuke hadn't dared touch. He was afraid his Dad would come down from wherever dead people went, and smack him a bit for going into the only place Fugaku could go when he needed to relax. Besides, it was nice to keep the only memories he had untouched until he was ready.

Sasuke brushed past Naruto and grabbed a book from a nearby bookcase, one he found in his distant cousin's compound and pushed down to his house, and sat on the sofa. The ignored smirked, and as soon as Sasuke turned his back, touched the handle of the door. He was soon electrocuted, however it was nothing more than a static shock, and decided to just leave the demonized door alone. Naruto walked away with his hands in his pockets, whistling innocently. Once he made it to the couch, he plopped down, causing Sasuke to jump up, and throw his book from his hands.

"Damn, Dobe! What're doing in my house anyway?" He yelled throwing his arms out, veins popping out of his neck, and eyes swirling in and out of Sharigan. Naruto backed up a little, his face was confused and angry. He didn't do anything. They glared at each other for a minute, until Naruto answered sighing, "Sakura-chan wanted me to come by and keep you company for her," he then scoffed, adding, "Not that you care."

Sasuke stood and grabbed the book he had thrown halfway across the room. He was reading _Little Women_, a quite boring book, he thought. His aunt told him it was good once you understood and got the concept of everything they were saying it would get better. Sasuke was seven when he rolled his eyes at this, and a little more than ten years later, he still was. This book could go and burn itself to ashes. He kept it since it was a family favorite, especially to the females. Sasuke sat back on the couch and flipped through the novel turning to his impressive page called two. "What's wrong with Sakura? She wouldn't tell me yesterday—I mean she was obviously lying to me," He then muttered, turning a page, "Bullshit excuse…triple-shift my ass."

Naruto leaned his elbows on he's thighs, and placed his head in his hands. "Meh. She told me she was sick this morning." A few moments of silence passed, only to be interrupted by the turning of the old pages of the book Sasuke was reading. Naruto grabbed the remote on the coffee table and turned on the television. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow in his teammate's direction. "I was reading, Naruto."

The blonde leaned back into the couch. "I know that, Sasuke. What am I supposed to do? Your house is beyond boring without TV!" Naruto yelled, throwing a temper tantrum. Sasuke shook his head and focused his attention on what was going on outside his window. The animals, which were usually calm and quiet making their stupid squeaking noises—this annoyed Sasuke to no end—had either flew away, or scampered away on their little paws. His facial expression changed from uncaring to suspicious, and Naruto glanced out the window, and asked Sasuke, "What's going on, Teme?"

He shook his head and asked, "What type of mission did Sai go on again?" Naruto shrugged and got up to grab a colorful book he saw in the previous bookcase Sasuke was using. "He said that he was going to a family meeting. He isn't originally from Konoha. I mean, I don't even know where he's from, to be honest, Teme. Why do you care?" Naruto received a flashback of Sasuke pounding Sai a couple of months ago when Sasuke turned to stare stoically at him. He shrugged again, and sat back on the couch, this time making sure not to plop. There was no need to get a rewind of Sasuke enraging, showing his need of anger management once again.

Sasuke turned to page 10 in his book, and answered, "He was my 'replacement'. I was issued to hate his emotionless ass since he insisted he was better than I was," He clicked his tongue, "Isn't Sakura's birthday coming up?" Naruto smiled, and put his picture book down. "Yeah! She's having a party. I thought you knew. I would've told you but…I thought you couldn't see people when you were on house arrest, so, I just stayed at home."

"I'm not on house arrest. I'm just staying home today. When is her party?"

He smiled ear to ear, and teased, "If she wanted to you to know, she would've had Ino tell you it was this Friday." Sasuke stared blankly at him and scoffed, returning to reading the book. These girls were still complaining about how they weren't going to get anything for Christmas. Sasuke would've just broken into the neighborhood bank, took some money from their college fund (since they were too stupid to go to college), and used that to get some presents. I mean, according to the book, they weren't that poor, they just acted like it. Sasuke groaned, "Dobe…"

Naruto growled and leaned against the arm of the couch, beginning to read his Dr. Seuss book again. If Sasuke kept on making these silly little interruptions, he would never finish his thirty-page book. It took him long enough to read one without noise. He glanced to Sasuke again, and saw him speed-reading. "Sasuke, what did you do after you tied me to a tree?" Naruto asked, deciding that the book was too juvenile to his genius, and that the font was excessively small. The Uchiha side glanced at Naruto, annoyance clear in his gaze. Naruto waited for his answer with a brotherly care for what Sasuke really did.

"I talked to Sakura." Sasuke answered, placing his book down. Naruto looked at him, his eyebrows growing closer together, "About what…?" Sasuke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. The sun had risen to its early afternoon height, and he assumed it was around eleven. Passing Naruto's question aside and standing, he stated, "Sakura usually leaves right about now. So go."

Naruto stood as well, "Answer my question, Teme. I'll leave as soon as you do." Sasuke looked out his window, as a bush moved too much, and looked out of place in his Mom's garden. His mouth opened to show Naruto he was going to retaliate in a moment, but he watched the bush a little longer. It now stayed still, despite the breeze outside. Naruto raised an eyebrow, creating a 'well?' expression. "I just told her it was your fault, Naruto. Which it was. Now go."

The Uzumaki glared lightly, and instinctively turned toward the garden Sasuke was observing. His eye twitched as he focused on that bush. The teammates stared at it together, until Naruto was convinced that it was just his mind messing with him. "Alright, Sasuke, I'll see you later," He shook his shoulder with a smile, and then walked away. Sasuke barely acknowledged this act and strode to the backyard. He closed his eyes, and studied his surroundings. The wind blew his hair off his face, and he took a calming breath. Sasuke heard leaves ruffle and then looked straight ahead to the bush. It was still there.

He walked over to the rosebush and moved it apart with a quick push. Inside were two squirrels…making more squirrels? He scrunched his nose in disgust, and turned, ashamed for thinking that there was a person hiding in there. It was too small, anyway. He studied the small area, which soon spread into wild forest, and squinted looking his eyes further ahead. He could've sworn he felt a slightly familiar chakra around here, but it could've been a team practicing back there. "I guess I was wrong," He whispered, walking back in the house from the backdoor.

Sasuke continued watching that area for a few minutes longer, and against order, locked the door with the special Jutsu he used to lock the study. He frowned and allowed himself to slowly let this delusion go. He was just so used to someone hunting him down, and maybe he was just experiencing that emotion again.

* * *

A woman in glasses smiled to herself, happy she wasn't found. "Everything is going as planned, Danzo," She spoke into her walkie-talkie. She walked away with pride, chakra still concealed. She was going to keep it that way until she was out of this putrid village. Her way of communication sounded, "Thank you…"

* * *

A/N: I did it in a day! LOL. More hints and stuff….I'm not revealing everything, though. So don't think that.

Review, please!

NaruBaby2496


	6. Chapter 6

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter Six

A/N: I write ahead, I use the plotting system (or whatever it's called), and I have plotted out up to chapter 8, right about in the middle of it. I'm going to go ahead and throw the number twenty out there. I think there will be about 20 chapters. It'll end in that vicinity, I'm almost sure.

* * *

Yawning awake, Sakura lightly tapped her alarm clock. Today was one of those days she deliberately set it early. Other days, her Dad would come in and change it according to her schedule. Since she didn't explain what she was going to be up to today, the parent wouldn't know. She scratched her head, and placed her pink fully slippers on her small feet. Sakura slid across the floor, and looked in the mirror. She really did cut her hair. "Great…," She sighed.

She turned to her closet and grabbed a hat. She placed it on her head, and searched for a purse that matched. It didn't matter much, though, it was five-thirty, and where she was going, people would shop with their pajamas on. Fashion wasn't all too important when going to the market. Finding the purse she wanted, she checked for a wallet, and plopped it inside. Sakura turned to the mirror again, and stared as her creamy skin became pale from lack of sun. She'd gone almost forty-eight hours without sun, and it was showing. Her sparkling green eyes had lost their usually vibrancy. She sighed again, and jumped out the window. There was no need to wake up Mom and Dad without reason.

The sun was still hidden, though the early morning breeze and the calming 'barely there' brightness warmed her. She smiled lightly, and scooted in the dust, her slippers still on. How silly she probably looked. That didn't matter though, it was early and no person in Konoha woke up before seven on Sundays. She discovered that when she was twelve, soon after Sasuke left.

Almost everyday she would escape via window and stalk off to the 'bench' and sit, waiting for him to show up, hug her, and return to the village perfectly normal, ready to accept her love. After a couple weeks she gave that wish up, she knew Sasuke wouldn't come back anytime soon. Then, Naruto left to go train with Jiraiya-sama. Sakura was just devastated. She was left on her own with her two best friends gone. Ino was just her old ignorant self, believing Sakura when she said she was okay. So, all the girl could do was spill her guts out to Tsunade. Her parents were gone during the day, doing their medical stuff that she hadn't learned about yet.

Those were the worst of times, but now, she guessed she had finally reached the better. Well, that was how she felt until Tsunade dropped the bomb that she was going to get rid of Sasuke. Sakura sighed, and pulled the store door open, already smelling all the arrays of candy, cake, fruit, and all other sorts of things. She walked in and was greeted tiredly by Konohamaru. "Hey, Sakura-chan. What're doing here so early?" She shrugged, and smiled lightly, continuing to walk inside the shopping center. Konohamaru worked here during the early morning shift—from four-thirty to six-thirty—and then went to training right after. She was more than glad that her parents didn't force her to get a job when she was his age. That would've been terrible.

She continued to the produce section. Sakura was going to buy some strawberries for her strawberry shortcake she was going to bake for her birthday. Before she was going to bake with Sasuke—before the most unfortunate news—and now she had no other choice but to make it on her own. She continued walking down the long isle, in search of the red fruit. She reached a corner, and started to turn, until she caught Sasuke with a basketful of tomatoes. "Shit…" She mumbled nervously, turning back to her isle, hiding against one of the refrigerators.

Her face was bright red, and she couldn't help but get upset again. How could they kill him even though he was being domesticated so well? Sasuke was at the grocery store in a robe just like every other human who went shopping there in the morning. Sakura crossed her fingers and looked up to the fluorescent lights, wishing the Uchiha wouldn't come down that aisle. He couldn't. She wasn't even close to ready to seeing his face without bursting into tears.

She closed her eyes, and felt for any other chakra beside her own and Sasuke's. After a few minutes, she frowned. It was just her and her teammate. She poked her head around the corner of the refrigerator, and watched Sasuke sort through the bananas. There were more than enough green ones, fresh and ripe like most people in town liked, but she knew Sasuke liked them yellow and normal. He'd moved so many out the way, focused on finding probably the only yellow banana accidently put in that section. Sakura giggled, there was a small selection of the yellow bananas right behind him. Sasuke looked in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing.

Sakura held her heart and her breath, counting to twenty seconds. Most people let go after that long. She hid against the cold refrigerator, keeping her thoughts organized.

Sasuke on the other hand, was still keeping his attention on that area long after twenty seconds. He found his yellow banana—he didn't believe so many people in this place ate bananas ripe—and was now going to search for the whipped cream. He wanted an ice cream sundae tonight, and got extra just in case Sakura decided to show up. The Uchiha stepped a couple steps closer to the refrigerator section and went around the corner to see Sakura, eyes closed, looking like she was praying to the gods. He smirked, pulling her hands apart, "What're you doing up so early," he looked down, "in slippers?"

Sakura smiled lightly, and then frowned at her own sorry attempt. She couldn't lie to him any longer, not when he was being so not-Sasuke. Her lip quivered. She was scared, and Sasuke could read it in her eyes. He released her hands, and asked concern laced thoroughly in every word, "How much sleep are you getting, Sakura?" She smiled, "About…not enough…" Sakura shivered then, from being up against the freezer for so long.

He removed her from the block, lightly pushing her by her shoulders. "Why?"

"My triple-shift is tiring me out, that's all," she lied, avoiding his burning gaze. He rolled his eyes, his voice now annoyed, "You're lying. Rei told me yesterday that you were at home in bed." Sakura frowned deeply. Sasuke had gone behind her back and asked her Mom what was wrong with her. Did he not trust her enough to believe her for longer than three days when she lied? Sasuke ignored her expression, saying, "That was obviously a lie, anyway. So what's up with you avoiding me? You're perfectly healthy—so you lied to Naruto too? I mean…Sakura; I'm your…teammate. You can tell me what's stressing you out."

His gaze on her almost hypnotized her into telling Sasuke the truth. Telling him that his world within this year. She swallowed back tears, thinking of another lie. Her bottom lip quivered, and she thought quickly, "You're stressing me out, Sasuke." He backed up, and sized up her condition. She was already crying, holding herself, and shaking almost uncontrollably. His eyes softened, but kept himself away. Quietly he added, "No, I'm not. You're stressing yourself out Sakura. You can't keep on blaming other—"

She yelled, "Y-Yes you are! Do you know how long I stay up all night searching for a way to put you down lightly! I don't like…," She calmed down and finished her sentence, not daring to even look at Sasuke, "I don't l-like you, okay? I got over you long ago and I started liking someone else, do you get it? J-Just stay away from me for the good of the both of us." His eyebrows rose in surprise, but soon grimaced in the girl's direction, "You got it," He walked up to her and flicked her chin upward so she was forced to look at him, "I'll leave you alone."

He disappeared in quick puff of smoke, leaving Sakura alone in the aisle, crying her eyes out. She fell to the ground on her knees and tried to keep it all together. She didn't want to create any more trouble for her friends, and that ended up hurting her most of all. She had dreams of being with Sasuke for the rest of her life, raising a family with him, and dying with him—wrapped in his arms. Sakura controlled her tears, and her eye caught a box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. She grabbed it, and gently pulled at the ribbon.

She opened the box, and inside was the necklace she eyed two days ago. She smiled, happy tears flowing down her cheeks. However dropped this just lost out. She glanced at a note that had fallen after she opened the box, and opened it with curiosity. It read:

_Sakura-_

_Thanks for accepting me after everything._

_I hope this was the necklace you wanted._

_-Uchiha Sasuke_

She gasped, and put the necklace hurriedly back in the box. She ruined everything. No matter how much she tried to help, she always ended up ruining everything. First with Naruto and now with Sasuke. She could care less about Naruto, since he was so forgiving, but once Sasuke made up his mind, he made it up.

Sakura stood up with the box in her hand, and walked out of the store, tears running down her face freely. "What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Konohamaru asked, checking out an elderly woman, handing her her change. He then remembered Sasuke storming out in anger, and muttering in fury. That must've had something to do with Sakura crying once again. The girl faced Konohamaru, pushing the door open, "Oh, nothing Kono-kun. I just made a big mistake, that's all."

He smiled, "At least you realize it, right?" She nodded and walked out, hands empty.

* * *

Tsunade played the staring game with three specialized officers who were to kill Sasuke. They were upset with her for not having a set date yet. "When, Tsunade—we have other things to do. There're missions and other criminals to kill during public assembly as well." She looked down at her calendar sadly. The only open day when every ninja was in town was July 20th, three days before the Uchihas birthday.

She sighed, refusing to kill him that close to him turning nineteen. "Well, Godaime?" The second officer asked, twirling his sword. Tsunade groaned, "We can't kill the kid so close to his birthday." There was a dark silence, and the leader rose. "If you can't decide, we'll act spontaneously and without your permission."

The clock ticked annoying Tsunade to no end. She smiled, scratching her head, "There'll be no need to do that sir. I haven't received a liable source disclosing Sasuke actually leaving the village, and besides, nothing went wrong during his absence. So I'm sending you back until I find a liable source."

The three men exchanged glances, angering. "You personally called us and now you want to send us back because your student is in love with the criminal?!" The third yelled, slamming his hands on the desk. Tsunade stood yelling in his face, "I can do that if it seems reasonable! I'm Hokage and I have power over all of you! You are dismissed! You are all dismissed!"

The air stood still, leaving nothing to dare make a sound. Tsunade continued glaring, and the special officers glared in return, until the door was cracked open by none other by Naruto. "You guys were going to kill Sasuke-teme?"He asked eyes wide in surprise. An officer turned on his heels, "Apparently that hasn't been decided."

Naruto shook his head, closing the door back, "Tell me you're not going to kill Sasuke, Tsunade-baa-chan." She smiled softly, hoping to keep Naruto as calm as possible. She answered, focusing her attention on the teen, but her words were meant to be heard for all people in the room, and with defiance she said, "We are not killing Sasuke Uchiha."The officers frowned deeply, and turned to walk out the door, the leader bumping Naruto purposely.

* * *

A/N: Whoa, was that good or what? Please don't say or what. Anyway, yeah that was the necklace Sakura wanted. She's a lucky ducky that ruins everything good she gets. That's all I have to say…: P


	7. Chapter 7

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter Seven

A/N: I really like my story! It's not even close to finished, about a third finished, though. Unless I change my mind…. :)

* * *

The air stood still, wind was not even known in the area, the brown, dry, barren, desert, quiet, remote, humid, and hot area had death island written all over it. It was at least 95 degrees without the added heat of humidity and absolutely no trees, clouds or wind, made it seem like it was 120 degrees. A vulture circled around the sun, waiting for the next person to fall out and die.

Karin fainted dramatically at the sight of yet another skeleton, and Juugo yet again caught her in his arms. This was as normal as the desert was dry, the girl would drop down whenever something scared her. Ever since Sasuke left, that was something normal and was expected. "Juugo…it's _so_ hot." The redhead complained, rubbing and blinking her eyes in attempt to get them to hydrate again. He skin was dry and cracked, her lips chapped far further than she ever let them get, and her hair frizzed beyond repair. If she had a mirror, it would surely break immediately.

He pushed Karin ahead, forcing her to walk ahead. "We have to meet up with Sai and Danzo, and they're in the Mist. It'll be cold and wet within a few hours, so just deal," He shoved her a little, smiling. She rolled her eyes. She couldn't wait until she made it to the Mist. The duo waiting for them were going to help them get Sasuke back. Without him and Suigetsu, Taka had fallen apart, and Karin missed that with all her heart. She'd never had friends before, and the guys were first. She did have crushes before, however, and she would be devastated if Sasuke was allowed to stay in Konoha with that Sakura girl. She grimaced, folding her arms. _I'll be damned, _she thought, already imaging how the rosette would die.

She saw Sasuke confess to Naruto that he hadn't done anything but tell Sakura what an idiot Naruto was, and that he was obviously over Sakura. He never even liked her. She never saw Sasuke cry over the girl, or heard him talk about her, or even go into a deep daydream when she saw pink. She had faith that Sasuke would see her again, and realize his true feelings. Sasuke would be the one.

Moreover, their plan was going great. Tsunade was going to banish Sasuke within a week, and then he would come into her open and loving arms. That was so painfully obvious that she almost felt sorry for anyone that didn't see it. She heard a jingle of tweets and turned her attention to Juugo, hitting him on the head, "Stop talking to birds, you weirdo!" Juugo frowned and finished his short conversation with the animal. He lifted his hand and allowed the bird to fly away, "Fine…"

---

The sky was pouring down sleet, the wind sent the loose snow in all directions, and the waves splashed on the dock, and hit Sai's toes, which were on there way to being frostbitten. He sighed, and wiggled them, trying to bring them back to life. It was no more than thirty degrees, and it was decreasing by the minute. He shivered, and sat on a cardboard box. Many people walked by, ignoring him and Danzo. Through the crowd, he spotted the man, and motioned for him to sit on the box next to him. He approached, leaning on his crane and caused an array of people to stand and watch him hop on his only working leg.

The man glared at them, making all of their hearts to skip and they scurried of to their original location. He grunted, and continued to the box, moving as fast as he could, which was unfortunately slow. Sai sighed, growing irritated of this place. It was too damn cold. Danzo sat, and asked his partner a simple question, "How is it going?" The pale boy smiled slightly, removing his hood, "Of course."

"So far, it seems as if Sasuke isn't focusing all of his attention on Sakura—something that will make both Karin and Juugo happy. The parakeet I sent didn't get much information, but all I got was that Tsunade is deeply confused as to what to do. You know, she's extremely close to Sakura and feels her pain. She keeps on trying to avoid killing or isolating Sasuke from the rest of society. Since we are trying to stay under wraps, I think the best thing we could do is just wait until he's comfortable in the village and knows everything. As of now he's clueless, granted he is on is way to knowing, but he's not there yet. We can use this small gap of time to strike; and I'm saying this is super small window, like a weeklong. It might be even smaller now that Naruto knows. We have to get it over with and bring this guy back to our side."

Danzo nodded at what Sai explained, and absorbed it for a few moments. "I see it as, the sooner we attack, the bigger chance we have of getting caught by Konoha and Taka. They think we're doing this for them and we're going to kill them," The two chuckled, but Danzo quickly hardened, "I say we wait for Sasuke to become comfortable with everything, realize that he's been given a great break and should use, and then strike. Konoha thinks they are a neutral since they gave him a punishment—a punishment that has been twisted in turned so it means nothing. So you know what we need to do?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Sit back and wait for things to go our way. As they always do."

* * *

Sasuke's foot pierced through the air, making a hissing sound, but missing Naruto's head by inches. He groaned, feeling terrible he had dodged his attack easily, barely having to think about it. He then sent an angered, strong and fast punch the Uzumaki's way, only to have it caught. Naruto squeezed his hand, forced it down to Sasuke's side, and released it, continuing to stare cautiously at his friend. "What's up, Sasuke-teme...you're doing terrible today…" Sasuke glared at Naruto and balled up his fists again. What did he think he was doing, making Sakura like _him_? It had to be Naruto; he was the only person besides him that she ever really got close to.

He swung again, this time with more force, and it barely skidded across Naruto's face. He'd jumped backwards, avoiding yet another punch. "Come on, Sasuke. I'm not going to get any better if you give me a break." Sasuke clenched his teeth, trying to keep himself from ripping this idiot to pieces in pure fury. He pulled his sword out the ground, and stalked off the training field, "Kakashi! Come practice with Naruto. I have better things to do." The gray-haired man stared lazily at Sasuke as he stormed off the grass, with steam coming out his ears. He laughed a little, "Girls can do that to Uchihas, too?"

The ebony teen zoomed past every person that dared ask him what was wrong, and glared evilly at innocent people because they were to unobservant and needed a wake up call. He knocked on the flower shop's door, causing the wood to shake, and a crack to go down the middle. Ino opened the door cautiously, fear written all over her face, until she processed who and more importantly, _why_ the person in front of her was steaming.

She'd never seen Sasuke so upset over anything before, and she just needed to know. Leaning against the doorframe, she greeted, "Konnichiwa, Sasuke-kun. Are you going to pay for our door?" He rolled his eyes and forced himself in, pushing the blue-eyed girl out the way. He pulled a chair from behind the counter and sat in it, interlacing his fingers and hiding his whole face. He'd done this so quickly, Ino hadn't had enough time to understand and was scared out of her wits when she heard him ask, "Does Sakura like Naruto?"

She jumped to the sound of his voice and squeaked. She relaxed soon, still beet red and closed the door answering, "No. Hinata likes Naruto, though. Why do you randomly ask?" She sat on the counter's ledge and eyed Sasuke inquisitively. He stared back, eyes emotionless. They had a little contest until Sasuke rose and picked up a flower that had fallen, "I just wanted to know." He placed it back in the vase that it looked like it belonged in, and turned to Ino centimeters away from him. She stood with her hands on her hips with a sly smile. She mimicked his voice, "'I just wanted to know'. Cha right! I think it's obvious that Sakura-chan likes you, Sasuke-kun. I mean, even though Sakura is lots different from the last time you really knew her, she really is the same. She cares so much about those that she loves that she'll destroy her own happiness for them."

He raised a mental eyebrow, and sidestepped away from the girl. Ino stepped in his direction, and continued, "You're the same too Sasuke. You hide your emotions and when they start to show you avoid all conversation about them." He crossed his arms, and bit his tongue. He refused to tell of one of Sakura's best friends. Ino continued to stare him down, until Sasuke spoke, asking abruptly, "Does she like Neji?"

The blonde's face reddened, trying to hold in all the anger created by Sasuke's ignorance. The guy was supposed to be a genius, yet he couldn't understand that she, Ino, had just given him the recipe to understanding Sakura. He was just so stuck on finding out who the rosette liked even though she had just told him who. Sasuke persisted in waiting for her answer, and just like a ticking time bomb, she exploded. Ino threw her arms in the air, turning in a complete circle, "No! She does not like Neji!"

"Lee?"

"No."

"Kiba?"

"Nooooo!"

"Shikamaru?"

"Oh, she better not."

"Shino?"

"Try again; you now have just a fifty/fifty chance of looking like a dumbass."

Sasuke frowned, thinking about yesterday, about all she said and the fact that she probably wouldn't very much like anyone outside of the village or older than her, so he concluded, confused, "She likes Choji?" Ino screamed and ran up the stairs for a moment, and came back with a diary. She shoved it at him saying, "This is Sakura's. I stole it. Now you read it." He put on a questioned look, until Ino put a finger on his lips, "You are going to feel like an idiot and realize it is not she who is messing up, but it is you, grasshopper."

A gong rang, and Sasuke searched for the player. Ino grabbed his head, forcing him to look at her. "Read the book." He rolled his eyes, "No." The air stilled in the shop, and the light was suddenly taken away. The girl ordered scarily, "You will read her diary. You will see both of your mistakes. You will see that you don't have that much time left to fix your mistakes and you _will_ learn to tell when Sakura is faking!"

"Hn, really?"

"Yes, really, Sasuke. She's trying to protect you, _Sasuke_. She like, _loves_ you, _**Sasuke**_!" Ino calmed down, and quickly finished, "She never…okay that's a lie, she has lied to Naruto for just his well being, but Sasuke, she's been lying to you for the longest! Can't you realize? She is hurting for you."

His eyes softened and he placed the diary on the counter. "I don't need to read it. Thanks, Ino," He then left, causing the bell above the door to ring. Ino smiled to herself, felling accomplished. She has never gotten through to anyone before with such success without using Jutsu. She just had to tell her Dad about this! She smiled, and continuing to fix the flowers, until she remembered something.

Ino ran out the door yelling, "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun! I won't tell Sakura-chan!" She then threw the pink, sparkling book in his direction, "I told you to read it!" Sasuke caught it, though his back was turned, groaning. He didn't understand how Sakura's diary would fix any situation he was in.

Sakura was obviously being truthful. Why else would she be so emotional?

* * *

A/N: Chapter 7 is now done. You don't even realize how many paths I can choose now…thinking about it, though, I only have about four, but no matter what I do, the ending will be the same. SASUSAKU FTW! LOL. Um, yeah I think that is just about it.


	8. Chapter 8

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, I started Chapter 8 yesterday…but I deleted it. Oops. Therefore, here is the result of my memory. LOL

* * *

Sakura brushed her hair, fixing the bed head; each stroke took out a tangle and gave her tresses a certain silkiness, softness, and body. However short her hair was now, she got used to it, and accepted the change. This cut actually framed he face better, and it wouldn't take as long to wash her hair, and it would save her a couple of bucks on shampoo every month.

She grabbed a red barrette—the old one from when she was little—and clipped it on top of her head, holding her new bangs from her forehead. Her skin had finally regained color, and she did give many thanks to her mom for that. She had almost forced her to get out the house and join her whenever she did anything (and trust me, they did _everything_) whether it interested Sakura or not. Yesterday, Wednesday, her Mom pushed her out the door, to go to the nursing home and talk to some elderly inhabitants of the village.

Sakura didn't dislike these people, per se, but she could do without them smelling like old oatmeal raisin mixed with vomit. She had talked to everyone, to no surprise the women where great listeners, and told them the story of he life. She took out some bits and pieces, but the elders were enthused nonetheless. After finishing the first half of the story, one had exclaimed, "Oh, the Uchiha boy! I saw him out yesterday, Sakura! He's a keeper; don't ever hurt him!" The woman's voice shook, but she giggled with such happiness, Sakura could swear she saw the sixteen-year-old in the grandma.

She had smiled softly, an apologetic look on her face, "I already have, Rosa. I hate it; I just always _always_ end up doing something wrong. Especially now. Sasuke is becoming so sweet to me," The group simultaneously 'wooed', causing Sakura to blush until she was red, "but, seriously, ladies, he is. He used to be so cold and now all of the sudden he's answering almost all of my questions, making sure I'm okay, and look—" She unzipped her sweater, showing off the necklace, "—he got me _this_ for my birthday."

Rosa clapped her wrinkled hands, smiling, until she saw Sakura's sullen expression. She touched her cheek lovingly, though she didn't now the girl, "There's no need to be so upset, doll. It seems like you're getting everything you wanted. I would darn near be jumping for joy if I was in your position." Sakura smiled again, tears almost forming in her eyes. The women leaned closer to her, and the tension built, while she waited for the right moment to speak. She closed her eyes, and said quietly, "I told him I hated him."

Another woman, Delilah dropped her knitting needles, gasping in surprise. All the women reacted the same way, except for Rosa. She stood, and took Sakura's hands, forcing her up as well, "Sakura! You had better know he is growing closer to you; why do you go and push him away. You're not doing the neither of you any favors. You hurt him, too. If you haven't noticed, this is gossip central, honeybunch. We all already knew about you two. What we didn't know is what you went and did to that boy's tender heart. He lost his family for Pete's Sake! Now you go and do something selfish, just because you're not ready to accept him accepting you." Sakura started to speak but the strong woman covered her mouth with a palm, "From everything you've told me, your mother's told me, Kakashi's told me, Naruto's told me, Ino's told me, and many _many_ other people have told me about you and Sasuke—I can really see that he is hating himself for allowing him to get so close to you and then have his heart stepped on."

Sakura stood wide eyed, and her eyes casted downward; that all sounded true. She plopped back down in the chair, fiddling with her fingers. "You don't understand, though, ladies. I had to break his heart…"Rosa rolled her eyes, too tired out from her last rant to explain it all again to this girl. She picked up yarn, and began knitting. The women followed Rosa's lead, and knitted, leaving Sakura waiting for a response. After ten minutes of silence, she croaked, "Tsunade was going to kill him. A-And she told me not to tell anyone so then I went back home and he knew something was wrong with me but I couldn't tell him so I lied and then he—he just knew I was but accepted it. I felt terrible that I had to because it was a Hokage order not to tell, but you guys, it was like choosing whether to be with the guy you'd always wanted to be with and then get reprimanded harshly or separate yourself from him before he was sentenced to lessen the pain when it happened," she started crying, "They both would hurt, but one would hurt less. It was so selfish of me, but once I started, I couldn't stop. I lied to my Mom, and then I lied to Naruto. I've been avoiding Sasuke for the whole week and then I ran into him at the market a couple days ago and I just couldn't take it! He just wanted to know what was wrong with me so badly and I couldn't tell him so then I lied, telling him that I liked somebody else and never liked him—it was just a crush. This lie would keep him from away from me so both he and I wouldn't hurt as much, but it's not working! It just hurts so much to know that he's trying with me and I have to shoot him down. I want Sasuke-kun so bad but he's going to be killed….so what's the use?"

They all stared at her, surprised by such a revelation. Sakura sat crying, but she failed when trying to stop them. With one motion, Rosa lifted the girl from her seat and embraced her, and patting her shoulders, she soothed, "There's always a use, baby."

The other women soon hugged Sakura, one by one, giving her small tidbits of advice, but the one that still rings in her head to this day was given to her by Delilah, "You can always tell people you love and trust, Sakura, always." It was exactly what her mother told her long ago, or so it seemed.

Sakura finished putting on her lip-gloss and glanced at her reflection. She was going to make sure she looked good for this. In her red, gold stitched kimono with a white dragon on the side, Sakura slipped on her heels.

She was going to fix everything the right way.

* * *

Sasuke sat in his recliner in the study, flipping pages in the diary. The sun had set a half hour ago, and the only light in the room was being casted by the fireplace next to him. His eyebrows were furrowed, as he was confused by most every word she wrote in her diary. He'd taken just about everything the wrong way.

_Dear Diary,_

_Sasuke-kun left yesterday…it's really depressing. I tried so hard to keep him from going. I just don't know what I could've done differently. I told him I loved him, diary. I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I guess it would've been different if I hadn't waited until the day he left to tell him, because I'm sure that looked like I was just trying to keep him here, but it wasn't meant to look like that. _

_If I could change one thing, I would've stayed in my room like a good girl, at least then Sasuke wouldn't have had me annoy him during his last minutes in the village._

_Until Next Time,_

_Sakura-chan_

He turned the page after reading that passage for the nth time, processing it more and more each time. Sakura isn't really annoying. She was just trying. She was tying to get him to understand, but he was just addicted to his not-so-sweet revenge. Sasuke continued reading, but flipped through a few pages that mainly contained _Sasuke-kun! My prince in shining armor _or_ Sakura Haruno Uchiha, matriarch of the Uchiha household_ or anything just filled with hearts and his face drawn on the page. He smiled to himself at this, and read the last page of the diary.

_Hello, again:_

_It's kind of hard writing to you now, since I have a feeling that one day I'll lose this, and Ino-pig will find you but…I have to tell you:_

_SASUKE IS GOING TO DIE_

_Though, not naturally. Tsunade it going to have him assassinated in a public assembly, sometime this year. I've had such a hard time lying to everyone asking what's wrong with me, but especially to Sasuke-kun. I told him that I, basically, hated him. _

_It's completely untrue, though. I'm doing this to help him realize that I'm not best for him, and that he shouldn't stay in Konoha just for me. He is wanted. He is wanted because he helped me, and I'm feeling so guilty for his sentencing that I've gone crazy. I don't know what I want anymore, Diary._

_If I could change one thing, I would've told the truth like a good girl, making Sasuke's last days the best as possible. _

_Until I Buy Another Diary,_

_Sakura-chan_

He frowned, and rubbed his temples at the coming headache. Ino was right. Sakura hurt herself for him, and he was hurting for her. He bit his lip, and closed the book carefully, putting it on his own personal bookshelf. It was almost full with books he'd found scattered around the compound. After removing his hand reluctantly from the diary, he watched the fire dance, still soaking everything in. At the end of every selection, she wished she did something differently. That disturbed Sasuke to no end, how Sakura would contort herself to make herself acceptable to everyone except herself.

The doorbell rang, and Sasuke jumped up suddenly, and strode a couple of steps the door and opened it, turning on the chandelier simultaneously. His mind raced, trying to sort out what he was really seeing, and trying to stay to what she wanted him to want. She smiled shyly and waved, covering herself slightly. Her kimono was long, it flowed to the ground, but there was a slit that raised high above her knee, and stopped mid-thigh. It was fire truck red, golden sparkles accented the golden stitching, and the usual of every kimono, a dragon circled up to her neck, and ended on her shoulder. Her face was stunning as usual, but her make-up singled-out the rose in her cheeks, which brought more attention to her jade eyes.

The two stared at each other, more so Sasuke stared at Sakura, until he said, bluntly but untruthfully, "I don't like it." He turned and walked away from the door, leaving it open. Sakura took this as an invitation to come in and she felt awkward, watching Sasuke's back. He was trying to keep it all together, but her coming her so suddenly was making that hard to accomplish. She asked quietly, "Why not?" Sasuke turned and gazed in her eyes for moments, and almost allowed himself to melt into them, but he stopped, and hardened his expression, grimacing, "It's too short."

Sakura crossed her arms and pouted, "No it is not. The slit _is_ high, but, this is the only kimono that wasn't white and I was kind of saving those for something else," she watched for any change in his expression for the better, yet he became even more upset. He looked at her, her obvious defeated face appearing, and smirked, "You're so annoying, Sakura."She smiled and put her hands on her hips, "I didn't just come here to be called annoying, you know."

Sasuke smiled back, and grabbed Sakura's hand, walking her to the couch. He sat, and then she followed sitting in his lap. Sakura placed her head on his warm shoulder cautiously, nervous still for the reason she really came here. He wrapped his arms around her, and placed his head softly on hers, inhaling the strawberry scent that was Sakura. The loving show of compassion could've been shown on every Christmas card or every Kay ad poster. They stayed wrapped in the other's warmth for a few more minutes until Sakura spoke, saying, "Sasuke, I have something to tell you."

He replied contently, "That would be why you came here, right?" She nodded against his strong shoulder, deciding on her choice of words. She didn't want to ruin this moment by saying something the wrong way. This felt too…_right_. "Yeah, it was, Sasuke-kun," Sakura answered running her finger across the veins on his arm.

"Aa…would it have something to do with Tsunade having me assassinated?"

She jumped slightly, with her eyebrows furrowed, "Eh?! Sasuke-kun who told—"He rubbed her eyebrows lovingly back to normal, smirking, "That's not too important, Sakura."She readjusted herself so she could face him fully, straddling herself. She continued watching him watch her. She smiled, and hugged him softly. "It is to important, Sasuke. I know I should've told you but, I mean, I really want to know who did."

Sasuke rose randomly, now carrying the girl (who squealed from being held mid-air) to his father's study. "Sakura, relax. I'm not going to drop you," He said, pulling on the door's golden handle. She grunted, offended by Sasuke noticing her fear of heights. "I am relaxed! What I'm worried about is my dress ripping up my leg any further." Sasuke placed her carefully on the carpet, smiling slyly. She questioned his expression, and he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear, "That won't be an issue…" and grabbed a family album from one of the highest shelves, using a stepladder.

She watched intently, until she noticed all the other books in the grand room. There were small books, large books, old books, new books, and all other novels she never even knew about. She guessed the higher up you go, the more personal the stories become. He came down from the ladder with a fluid jump, and dusted off the picture book with a blow. Sasuke strolled in her direction, and sat in the recliner, motioning for her to come and sit in his lap. She sat carefully, "Is that a family photo album, Sasuke?"

He nodded and placed the book on her thighs, so they both could see the pictures. He opened the album to the first page, and pointed out his mother and father in the mix of four other people, "This is when they were dating. 'ama and 'apa, my grandparents, really hated Dad. They didn't have much of a reason; just that he was 'off'. These people," he pointed to a smiling teenaged girl with apparent streaks in her hair, and a boy about to flick a rubber band at Fugaku, "are my Aunt Mari and uncle Jiro. They didn't like Dad either." Sakura giggled, and turned the page herself, "Is this your Mom and Dad again?"

Sasuke smiled softly, "Yeah. Dad took her to the fair for her birthday. It was supposed to be a secret, but Jiro stalked them." Sakura laughed, covering her mouth. "That's what a big brother does, right?"She kept laughing, and Sasuke continued going through the book, explaining each picture in detail, seemingly never reaching the end. Much to his pleasure, Sakura was agreeing with and understanding everything he was saying. She talked with him with her smile, until Sasuke reached the end of his family's section and reached a new one. "'Uchiha Sasuke' dot….dot…dot, what's that for?"Sakura asked sweetly, pure curiosity in her eyes.

He looked at her, then at the page nervously. He explained, carefully, "It's for my wife and our family…" Sakura blushed, and her eyes lit up in shock. Her mouth mirrored the shape of an 'o' and she whispered, "Ooooh, that makes a lot of sense. So there aren't any pictures in there yet?" Sasuke smirked, answering the question without words. At times, her naïveté was the cutest thing. He nodded, and she nodded as well. The awkward silence spread for a long moment, until Sakura murmured, looking him in the eyes warmly, "When do you think you're going to fill it up?" Sasuke's face flashed red for a moment, but he soon calmed, and held Sakura's face in his hands. He steadied his stare on her green eyes, this time letting himself disappear into them.

Her heart had sped, skipping many beats, and she felt her face heating. His nose inched closer to hers, until they were centimeters apart. Sakura gasped the second before their lips touched, causing Sasuke to smirk in the kiss. Sakura laced her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. He leaned deeper into the smooch, using one hand to steady himself above her, and the other to keep her close.

They had both wanted this all along, to be tangled up in each other without a worry of the other finding out something they weren't supposed to. The intensity increased as Sasuke released the lock between their lips and he pecked them affectionately before nipping and sucking at her neck, making her jump a little. He looked up to her, "I-I-I'm—I didn't mean to, if you didn't want—I-I'll stop," Sasuke apologized, out of breath. Sakura flicked open her eyes, "I-It's okay. I was having….fun?" Sakura kissed him sweetly, and he continued, running his hand up her slit, and then lightly caressing the skin on her abdomen. She shivered, and let out an accidental hum of pleasure. The photo album fell, and Sasuke stopped suddenly, removed himself from atop Sakura, and picked it up. She pouted a little, but quickly stood to pull down her dress, which had rose high.

He was red in the face and attempted to hide it by running up the stair-ladder to put the album where it belonged. He'd never felt like that before, he'd never let himself lose control like that before. Yet, Sasuke liked it, but didn't know how to handle it. He let himself calm (aka let the tent in his pants fall) and then walked down the ladder. When his foot touched the carpet, he saw Sakura near the fire, laid out on her side. "Are you sleepy, Sakura?" He asked kneeling down and rubbing her arm softly. She murmured in response, flipping over to face him. She had a smile on her face, "Why'd you stop, Sasuke-kun?" His eyebrows rose and he turned his head. He really didn't know why, he just used the book as an excuse. "Hn, I don't know."Sakura stood, pulling him up as well then wrapping her arms around his neck, "Yes, I am sleepy. Can I stay here tonight?"

Sasuke smirked, "There's only one bed big enough for us." She winked and squeezed his hand, "Lead the way, Uchiha." He chuckled, walking up the stairs and down the hall to his parent's room.

* * *

A/N: Ahhh. That SasuSaku-y-ness fills the air. Let it be said that I didn't continue because this is rated T and, um, I don't want to make it M for one itty-bitty paragraph. Therefore, I left it cliffy. Imagine what they do….: P

Yay! Now all of Team 7 knows! (except for Kakashi…)


	9. Chapter 9

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 9

A/N: Geez! I almost have 2,000 clickies….wow. That's second to one of my most popular stories—and I think it's going to stay first (it has 9,908 hits).

Sakura lay bound possessively in Sasuke's arms, cuddled sweetly against his bare chest, and breathed lightly and rhythmically, in a deep sleep. He placed his head naturally in the dip of her neck, it fight perfectly, and had one of the rare good night's sleep without any of those bloodcurdling nightmares, reminding him constantly of what he'd done for his so called revenge. He would wake up in the middle of the night, gasping for air, afraid that he was forced back to the past, forced to relive it again. Not tonight, however, he was calmly sleeping, as he would've when he was younger and he had family to comfort him.

It was early morning still, and all of Konoha was sound asleep, awaiting the first strand of sunlight to reach their bodies, telling them it was time to awake and start their long Thursday. The sun rose sleepily, almost nonexistent at first, until the first few rays erupted from the ball of fire, stirring the small animals first. Springtime noises sounded; the birds chirped their songs of the morning, baby rabbits hopped clumsily after their parents, attempting to follow them to the food, and the cherry blossom trees opened, giving the pink glow they always did. Sasuke's eyes opened softly, blinking a few times at who was in his arms, he just couldn't believe it was true—it was real.

She really did come over to his house late last night to tell him his fate in the gorgeous kimono (which happened to be thrown somewhere in the room), and he really did it. Well, besides doing _it_, he did it. He, hopefully, let Sakura know that he really did care for her more than anything in the world mattered, that she had taught him that nobody would look up to him for being the best at killing, but that people looked up to you for doing your duty as a ninja, for being a friend before a foe, and that love doesn't always make sense. He moved a stray piece of hair of of her cheek tenderly, watching keenly as she slept. She unconsciously scratched the area Sasuke had touched, and then returned to her peaceful rest.

Sasuke removed his arms carefully from her body, and moved to the edge of the bed slowly. Sakura stirred at the absence of his warmth, but he covered her with the sheets, using one quick arm movement to pull them up. She cuddled against the pillow and returned to sleep. Sasuke smiled softly at her child-like expression, but quickly focused his attention at all the mess on the floor. Chuckling to himself, he picked up his scattered belongings and shoved them into them into the already full hamper. When you have enough clothes to last you a lifetime, there wasn't a need to do the laundry every weekend. Not that Sasuke cared anyway; he wasn't going to be anywhere but the house or the village for the rest of the year, staying as far away as possible from any gate.

You see, Sasuke wasn't necessarily afraid of dying if he died naturally—of old age, or something along those lines. He did care if he was forced to have his life flash before his eyes in front of a crowd without choice. It seemed as if he was going to get that punishment, however, everyone thought he didn't know, so those who knew just acted as if the world was perfect. Picking up Sakura's kimono, he folded it carefully, trying to hide the broken zipper. He wasn't exceedingly patient when it came to those matters. Rubbing the wrinkles out of the silk, he placed it at the end of the bed, and then proceeded to take his shower.

Naruto walked side by side with his sensei, the great Kakashi…does he have a last name? Anyway, as I was saying, he walked with his sensei to the Hokage Tower, to convince him that he wasn't lying about Sasuke and his sentence. Kakashi refused to believe this. Tsunade had as big of a heart as he did, though he didn't like to show that he really was the caring type. Naruto began to drag the gray-haired man after a few minutes of Kakashi beginning his escape from the teen, and he complained, "Kakashi-sensei! I promise I'm not lying! Can't you just come on?" He rolled his eyes. It was harder than chewing rocks for breakfast to turn down this kid.

He groaned, "Fine, Naruto. I'll—" and then they were there. Kakashi did a double take, surprised that Naruto dragged him so far so fast. Naruto grinned from ear to ear, excited that his sensei realized this. "I got fast yesterday," He answered, a smile still plastered on his face. Kakashi smiled back. Naruto really was becoming more and more like his father everyday; excluding the excessive energy. They walked into the building, shocked at the dark silence in the entryway. Naruto's ears perked up as he listened for anything helpful, and out of instinct, Kakashi grabbed his kunai and instructed Naruto to follow him.

The two stepped quickly up the stairs, and around the corner, only to be bombarded by the smell of fresh blood. Naruto covered his nose immediately. The stench, even Kakashi could admit from the comfort of his mask, was unbearable. After a few moments, the ninjas recuperated from the smell and sprinted to the only door in the hallway—that of the Hokage's. Kakashi touched the bloodstained handle and pulled it open, warning Naruto to stay behind until he called. The teen nodded, and watched what was going on from a crack in the door. He knew that things weren't as positive as he wished they were. He hoped that Tsunade was the one alive and the enemy was the one suffering, gasping for breath in his own puddle of blood.

Kakashi stepped carefully around every pool of the red liquid, eyes shifting into Sharigan. The curtains were pulled together, casting compete darkness in the room, and the man jumped when yellow snake-like eyes opened menacingly. "Oh…hello, Kakashi, I don't remember inviting you to this little _party_." Kabuto held Tsunade in his arms, and placed her on the desk, making it obvious for them both to see the damage done. Their expressions were exact opposite. Kakashi almost regurgitated at the open wounds across her neck, head and chest, and gagged as he saw the scattered organs on the floor. How could—why would anyone what to do this to Tsunade? Kabuto smiled, his long tongue licking his lips, and he answered Kakashi unvoiced question, "Tell Sasuke-kun we said hello."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "…._We_?" He asked, mimicking his voice. Kabuto laughed, lifting his glasses with an index finger. They stared at each other for moments on counting, and Naruto watched from his hiding place, disgusted. He thought Kabuto was completely out of the picture, and now he suddenly comes back to the village to kill Tsunade for Sasuke. He was sure that Orochimaru was dead and gone, so what did Kabuto want with Sasuke? Naruto looked closer at the four-eyed enemy and noticed his features. He gasped in revelation and Kakashi said, shock evident in his voice, though it was trying to be hidden, "You and Orochimaru are fused together?"

He smiled, showing Kakashi that his accusation was correct, "Yes, Kakashi. I have to leave now; I suggest you do as well, with Naruto." The teen jumped from his place, but remained hidden. Controlling his thoughts of killing the snake, he waited patiently until Kabuto stopped glaring at him from the crack. Within seconds he did, then he reminded, "Tell Sasuke," He started to disappear in a puff of smoke, but added, "Oh, and congratulate Sakura-chan for me." Kakashi stood confused, and called Naruto to the room. They stared at the disassembled body of Tsunade, rage about to erupt from Naruto, until his sensei patted his shoulder, comforting him. Naruto calmed, and asked, "What are we congratulating Sakura-chan for?" The silver haired man grabbed Tsunade sadly and carefully, shrugging his shoulders in answering Naruto's question. "I don't know, Naruto, maybe her birthday?"

Naruto shook his head, "It can't be that. He would've just said 'tell her happy birthday' then."

"All I know is that she'll be devastated about Tsunade…"

Sakura stretched awake from her slumber, and scratched her head. She looked out the open window at the bright sun and the many people walking around the village, going to the market, training, or just walking around. She smiled lightly at this. She was really in Sasuke's house in his bed. Wow, imagine Ino's reaction. Sakura started to get out of the bed, and pulled the sheets with her. She wasn't going to flash the whole village. That was her excuse, though; Sakura wasn't yet comfortable with her body, as most teenaged girls were.

She heard the shower ease off, and then the door click closed. She blushes bright red, nervous for what Sasuke would say, seeing her wrapped in the sheets, looking like a Greek Goddess gone wrong. She scooted over to a dresser and searched for a t-shirt. She dug through the drawers with one hand, and used the other to keep the sheets up. The bathroom door opened, the steam wrapping around the room and made the glass fog. Sasuke was soon seen through the smoke and Sakura stared astonished. Sure, she'd seen him without his shirt on before, but never in a towel. That changed things and moved it to a whole other level. He smirked at her reaction and said, "Good morning, Sakura…"

Unlike what most thought, Sasuke's hair wasn't always spiked, and Sakura saw this now. It looked semi normal straight, it was weird for Sakura seeing him without his signature duck butt hair, but she liked it. Sasuke stopped brushing his teeth and eyed Sakura curiously. He spit and asked, "Why are you staring at me wrapped in my sheets?"She blushed and searched for something convincing to say. There was so much that happened at once and she was honestly overwhelmed by her owned emotions being returned after such a long time. She tugged at her hair playfully, "I was just looking at your hair. Um…can I borrow a t-shirt or something?" He shrugged politely, grabbing another towel to dry his dark tresses. "You can have it, if you want."

He walked around her and grabbed a white undershirt, handing it to her. She stared stunned still holding the shirt. Sakura just couldn't grasp it all at once. Sasuke kissed her forehead sweetly then teasingly pulled down the sheets with a smooth pull as he walked back to his own closet. Sakura yelled in a hushed tone, covering herself with the shirt, "Sasuke-kun! Come on! The blinds are open!" He laughed to himself, as he slipped on his own ninja mesh. He wore it everyday just because he was used to the feel of it even though he wasn't allowed to go on any missions. "Nobody but me will _ever_ see you Sakura, especially if you just put on the t-shirt." She groaned and but on the shirt reluctantly. She would have liked it better if he let her go in the bathroom and change, without him being such a Sasuke.

She stepped in his direction and then went to the mirror. Her hair was such a mess. "Do you have a brush?" She asked him, rubbing the crust out of her eyes. He threw her one from out of the closet, which made Sakura curious as to why the brush was in the closet, and she caught it expertly, and began to brush out all the kinks. Sasuke was tired of all the silence from her, and said cautiously, "You look…upset about something, Sakura." He hugged her from behind, squeezing her slightly, and receiving a smile in return. She stopped brushing her hair and looked at their reflection. Sasuke looked at peace. She giggled and kissed his nose, flipping around. "I just feel like something more is happening around us, that's all, Sasuke-kun."

He looked at her worried expression; she was trying to cover it with her smile, and he prodded further, "Like what?" Her eyes casted downward as she avoided Sasuke's expression, he looked like he was seriously anticipating her answer with his dark cold eyes warmed lovingly. They were closer than she ever expected to happen in any place besides her dreams; she looked up into his gaze, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sakura-chan…" He murmured beginning to kiss her slowly. She smiled at the '-chan' he added. She was floating on a cloud, kissing him sweetly in return and she became lightheaded from lack of air. He released the kiss quickly, and then continued not wanting to let go yet. She was bright red from excitement, but was more than upset when the telephone rang.

He groaned and untangled himself from Sakura, jogging to get the telephone. He reached for it and answered, "Uchiha residence, Sasuke speaking." Sakura shook her head, waking up from the kiss and continued brushing her hair, pretending to look like she wasn't eavesdropping. "Hello, Sasuke-san, is my baby over there?"Shishou, Sakura's father asked. He put emphasis on his nickname for Sakura, and this made Sasuke cringe a little—he was going to get the girlfriend's Dad's talk if he said yes. There was silence on the line a little longer, and even Sakura stopped brushing her hair.

Sasuke whispered unenthusiastically, "Yes…"

He heard Shishou grind his teeth from rage. Sasuke completely understood. He would be pissed beyond belief, if his daughter had left home to spend the night over his house too. Shishou would probably come and kill him personally if he found out all the details. The father answered, obviously trying to control his anger, "Don't make me give you the speech, Sasuke."

"It won't be necessary, sir," He added arrogantly, "I know how to control myself."

Shishou sighed, "I don't want my baby pregnant before she's ready and I'm fully aware that you want to resurrect your clan—"

"Are you suggesting that I'm using Sakura?"

"I didn't suggest but right about now it seems very plausible. I'm her Dad; I know when she's doing something she shouldn't be."

Sasuke was silent for moments on end and he muttered, "How do you know she shouldn't be?"

"Sasuke, I didn't call to tell you to keep your pants on because obviously by your attitude I can tell it's a little too late for that." Sasuke rolled his eyes at this, and turned his back from Sakura. She was now deep in the conversation, not even doing something to make it look like she wasn't spying. Shishou continued, "Tsunade died. She was murdered this morning."

His eyebrows bunched together, and a crease appeared on his forehead. Sakura would be so hurt. "Do you know by whom?" He asked, already feeling her worried stare on his back. The line was silent, and Shishou answered harshly, "Orochimaru and Kabuto. They apparently fused together or something of that sort. They're looking for you."

Sasuke clenched his jaw and thanked the father, "Arigatou. I'll tell Sakura…"

"You're welcome. Oh, and about my baby—don't play with her heart again. You have two strikes already," He threatened.

Sasuke hung up the phone without a goodbye, and turned to pull Sakura into a hug before he even told her why he was doing what he was. Sakura asked smiling, "Why're you hugging me?"He sat Sakura on the bed and stood a step away from her with his arms crossed, and said carefully, "Tsunade-sama was murdered this morning, Sakura."

She stared at him wide eyed and shook her head, "No. I-I the last time she saw me she—Sasuke-kun, she's not dead…." She started crying at this, a single tear rolling down her face. He wiped it with the back his hand, and nodded, "Yeah, she is. I'm sorry."She fell into his arms, and he held her as she cried softly. He cradled her, kissing her head as the tears flowed on his shirt. After ten minutes, Sakura calmed herself down long enough to ask, "Who did it, Sasuke-kun?"

"Kabuto—he and Orochimaru fused together and I guess it's time for a new body so they're still after me."Sasuke answered holding her tighter just to keep her from exploded. He knew she would be more than upset after finding this out. She wiggled out of the bear hug and glared past Sasuke. "I thought he died," She muttered, crossing her arms. Sasuke frowned, "Obviously not."

Sakura groaned, "This is not a good day-before-my-birthday surprise." Sasuke chuckled and pecked her lips. She wiped her tears again, with a small smile, "Her funeral is tomorrow?" He nodded, "I'm guessing. Do you want me to walk you home?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "No. I'm sure my Dad will be coming here tomorrow morning with some close for me."

A/N: And done! You didn't expect two in the same day, did you? NO, I'm sure you didn't. OMG, so now there is another bad person, and they all want Sasuke. Geez, he does not need an ego boost. LOL

I saw New Moon yesterday, and being a diehard Team Jacob supporter, I was liking the movie, then I was more than pissed when Edward proposed to her _right_ after Jacob ran away all teary eyed because Bella told him that Edward was better than him. (Geez Jacob doesn't deserve that!)


	10. Chapter 10

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 10

* * *

Sakura awoke first in the morning, wrapped in Sasuke's arms as; it was beginning to feel, usual. The sun had yet to rise, and she slipped out his grip carefully. She prayed she hadn't waked him, but as she began to place his undershirt on, he woke, humming with a smirk, "Happy birthday, Cherry Blossom." Sakura smiled brightly, and kissed his forehead, "Thank you. Go back to sleep" He mumbled an 'ok' and fell back into his slumber.

Ever since she was seven, she'd told her friends to wish her a happy birthday not on the day of, but on the day of her party. If she didn't have a party that year, which rarely happened, they would end up wishing her a great day sometime that weekend. She strolled into the the bathroom and started the shower, allowing the water to wash away and comfort her thoughts. Today, as Sasuke guessed, was Tsunade's funeral, and it would take all of her power not to break down at the memorial. She was already known for being emotional for other people, so all the Rookie 12 expected lots of tears from Sakura, but she was trying to convince herself that crying wouldn't do anything. Tsunade was already gone, so her tears would do nothing but humiliate her and probably make Tsunade even sadder wherever she was.

Sakura couldn't accept that Tsunade was honestly dead. There was no possible way that there would be no alarms or anything. It was probable Kabuto killed a guard; but break into the office and then kill Tsunade without anyone knowing? That was the hardest part to grasp. She knew her sensei was alive somewhere, and that she let all of this happen in order to create some distraction. The way Tsunade thought ahead, Sakura was sure she planned the scenario that happened yesterday. Eventually Sakura would find the answer; she was sure of it. Why else would Tsunade 'die' so randomly and without reaction? After starting to get a headache thinking of that subject, Sakura pinched her earlobe, something she did out of habit to help her concentrate.

Finding something else to think of, she figured she also had to find something else do with her time besides hang out at Sasuke's house. Sure, it'd been only two days and it was great knowing that Sasuke would always be there when she woke up, or when she feel asleep, when she needed support or encouragement, or when she needed a quick smile or laugh. However, she did have a life outside of him, and she was sure her Dad would have a mouthful for her. Sasuke had told her before they went to sleep that her Dad had talked about her as well. It made her feel little that her—well she didn't know if he was official—boyfriend was already getting the 'Dad' talk. That was expected, though, because Shishou did not like to waste time with any person in Sakura's life that it seemed had romantic thoughts about his daughter.

He'd talked to Naruto about two years ago, and, laughing at it now, Naruto had been so grossed out. It wasn't that Naruto never thought about doing those things with her, even if for just a split second, it was that her father went into such detail without daring to give anyone a chance to get over the shock that he was honestly speaking like Kakashi, or even worse, Jiraiya. Sasuke acted as if Shishou didn't go into detail—thankfully—but that he just implied that he thought Sasuke was going way too fast, or at least that's how Sakura perceived it.

She'd asked him, still red from their activities, cuddled against his chest, "Do you ever think Daddy will get accustomed you?" He traced the features of her face, and he answered calmly, "He's going to have to, Sakura-chan." She smiled again, glad he used '–chan' twice in the same day and bit her lip out of nerves at what he was implying. She laughed goofily and asked another question, sweetly, "What'd he tell you?" He yawned playfully, but answered her question anyway, "He said that he didn't want his baby pregnant before she was ready, that I just wanted to resurrect my clan—that basically pissed me the hell off because I would never use you for that—and that I didn't know how to keep my pants on." Sakura frowned, and flicked Sasuke in the forehead like Itachi used to. He smiled then kissed her softly, "Any more questions?" She shook her head and hid her smile in his strong chest, falling back to sleep. She quickly added, before going into a complete trance, "Sasuke-kun?" He awoke and she continued, "You really aren't too great at keeping your pants on, just so you know." He scoffed ruffling her hair, "It's not like you're complaining, though." She blushed bright red, being caught in her own trap, and let it end there, falling asleep in his possessive grip across her waist.

Sakura turned off the hot water, and stepped out of the shower. She loved how the water calmed her enough that she could actually sort the most of her thoughts. She grabbed a large pastel green towel—she guessed Sasuke had got her one, he spoils her to no end—and dried herself off, then wrapped it around her body. She grabbed the smaller pink towel that came in the set, and ringed out her rose hair, making sure she dried it all the way. It was cold outside today, odd for a March day, and she wasn't trying to get sick. Her tresses were growing fast and she decided to keep her bangs. They were cute and made her forehead look more normal. Sasuke had told her that she looked beautiful with or without the bangs, but she did not believe him anyway. He didn't kiss her until she got her bangs. Therefore, she was keeping the style. She twisted her hair up in a librarian bun, and clipped it with a black barrette.

There were three quick raps on the door and Sakura jumped in shock. After her quick recovery, Sakura went to the door, and cracked it open, "Good morning, Sasuke-kun." He was already dressed in his black shirt and pants, making him look paler than usual with all the dark around him. Sasuke handed her her own black dress and explained, "Your father came by while you were in the shower. It looked plain by itself, he said, so he brought your necklace over as well," He handed her the clothes, then pulled the necklace he got for her out of his back pocket, "Turn around so I can put this on for you, Sakura." She turned, and Sasuke placed the cold silver on her neck, and clasped the hook together. Sakura smiled, "Thanks. Thanks for getting the necklace, I mean. You really didn't have to."

He smirked, "I know," and kissed her cheek, "The ceremony is going to begin in fifteen minutes, so get dressed, okay?"She nodded and returned to the confines of the bathroom to put on the simple black dress.

* * *

The Rookie 12 walked together to the memorial services, obviously broken into groups of three by their team. Naruto, though, was walking with Kakashi and Sakura's parents. The air was quiet, a hard death-like quiet and the cold wind didn't help the scenario. It started to drizzle soon after they ran into Sasuke and Sakura, who were walking together fingers intertwined naturally, when they arrived from around the corner. Naruto smiled slightly, and waved wildly, "Over here!" Neji rolled his eyes at how wild Naruto was, even when they were at a funeral for the Hokage. Hinata giggled at him, blushing. Naruto faced her way with a playful wink, and then quickly turned back to his teammates, continuing to wave.

Sasuke suddenly stopped searching for his team, and averted his gaze to Naruto, rolling his eyes. He wrapped his around Sakura's shoulder and whispered in her ear with a smirk, "I wonder where Dobe is…" Sakura laughed and bit her lip, punching him lightly. Sasuke smiled lightly back, and they walked closer to their group and they nodded in greeting. Kakashi smiled a little, and Shishou frowned crossing his arms. He wasn't all too happy that his daughter was all over the Uchiha so soon. He could remember just last week when she would cry desperately over him when they weren't 'dating'—apparently, it wasn't official, but that necklace said differently—and he could only imagine what she would do if he broke up with her. He shuddered. That would be the the worst thing he could see in reality.

Shishou glared at Sasuke for moments on end, and Sakura and Rei both smacked the men out of the staring contest. Naruto bunched his eyebrows together, feeling more than awkward and informed, "So…The guard lady said that Sakura could sit up front since she was Tsunade's student, and I was thinking that since we're friends and family," He looked at Sasuke with a smile, "and…'_not'_ boyfriends….I figured we could all get front row seats." Sasuke stared at Naruto for a few moments, and rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's go then," said Kakashi, trying to help the tension ease, and leading them to the entry gate. Sakura squeezed Sasuke's hand hard and frowned, "Stop it. You're being a bastard." He rolled his eyes, and removed his hand from her iron grip, rubbing it nonchalantly. He never even thought she would be willing to break his hand just because he was being a 'bastard'. He almost scoffed to himself, but caught it, because his hand really hurt.

They all sat in the first row, leaving only one seat open for Tsunade's mother, who never showed up. Sakura sat in between her Dad and Sasuke, whose arm was around her shoulder. They were the two most important guys in her life, and she listened intently as the host, or whatever it was called, arrived and began his speech. "We all know that Tsunade was a strong, powerful woman that would be missed dearly for more than one reason. She did more than be a Hokage. She was more than a teacher," His gray eyes smiled at Sakura, who was already getting teary eyed, "She was more than a daughter. She was more than we made her out to be. Tsunade is a loving, caring, compassionate woman that would do anything for those she loved, and we are sure that her unsolved murder was the outcome of her protecting us, her village of faithful followers." Sakura let tears fall silently, and everyone turned to her, feeling sorry for the girl, having her sensei being taken away from her so soon without more explanation than whom the killer was. Sasuke ignored the stares of many people and his eyes softened lovingly, and then kissed one of her tears softly, wiping away the rest with his thumb.

The host continued his speech as Sakura leaned on Sasuke, tying to control her tears. "Since I am kind of on a schedule, and Tsunade hates it when people besides her don't follow schedule," A thunder of chuckles erupted from the large audience, "up next is…an invocation. So, if you'd all please rise," He rose his hands up signaling all that hadn't heard to rise. Sakura remained attached to Sasuke, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice it looked like they were connected by an invisible string. He smiled slyly, couples didn't get that string into they did the do. He wished Jiraiya had written some characters like that in his book. He grabbed his notepad and jotted down more notes; he was going to make his own book one day.

The host began his prayer, "Our Loving Eternal Heavenly Father, as we meet this morning to remember Tsunade, we ask you to be to be the God of all comfort, and the God of all grace. Give us perspective as we face the reality of death, to grow in our perspectives in the truths of life. We ask this in your name, Amen." Everyone repeated his 'amen' and sat subsequently. Sakura stared into nowhere as she sat, scaring Sasuke a little. She was daydreaming deeply, almost looking like she was being possessed. He shook her slightly, waking her up. She smiled, "T-Thanks…"

"Next is the viewing and eulogy, so if you don't mind coming up, last row first to view the body of Tsunade if you'd like…" He motioned to the casket, "Just walk over this way." Music played as the people walked up the steps in slow motion, some stopping and crying, some stopping to say a few words at the microphone, but most just glanced at the body, not daring to stare too long. Sakura poked Sasuke's arm, and smiled, "You think I should say something, Sasuke-kun?" He faced her and shrugged, "If you want, Sakura. I'm pretty sure you'll be too emotional from looking at Tsunade, though." She turned around to see how many more rows were left, and then she pouted, placing her head in the curve of his neck, "I just want to see Tsunade before I'm twenty." Sasuke chuckled, whispering, "It's cute how you think I won't make the line go faster for you." She started to complain at his arrogance, but he kissed her ear, making her blush.

Rei watched her daughter, smiling unconsciously, "Shishou-kun, they are just so adorable, don't you think? It's like Sasuke is a completely different person around Sakura-chan." She cooed, touching her heart. Her husband on the other hand was muttering curses at the Uchiha. He calmed himself to reply to Rei's question, "You do know it's highly likely he's just using her to resurrect his clan, right? Do you know that means—and, babe, I can _tell _they've done it." He grimaced in Sasuke's direction, and then Rei hit him softly on the head. "She's eighteen and they obviously care for each other," She watched Sasuke twirl a strand of her hair involuntarily, while she played with his hand, probably waiting impatiently for their row's turn. Rei then continued, "Even I can see that invisible connector between them, I saw it before Sasuke left at first, and now it's stronger than ever. I just think he's finally had time to return her emotions and now he is…and her having sex with him doesn't bother me one bit." Sakura's father almost exploded in anger at what she just admitted, but then watched the two showing their love for each other in a diminutive way, just enough for someone to see it as not a platonic relationship, but a compassionate romantic connection. He frowned and said, "You really want to be a Grandma, huh?" She smiled and nodded hugging his arm, "Just imagine. More little kids in the house." He grimaced at the plural.

A couple of minutes later, the time came where Sakura's row was allowed to go up and see the Godaime. The row rose simultaneously, turned right at the same time, and started to walk together. They were the last row, so they had to look the best. Sasuke stayed close to Sakura, holding her waist as they walked, causing the crowd to murmur. "Do you really think they are together?" "Oh, that's so cute!" "Sasuke-kun is supposed to be mine." "Oh my god, you guys, he's just helping her up the stairs…by holding her by her waist. Duh, it's too obvious!" These were all heard, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. These people were so lame in their own lives that they had to worry about his, too. He smirked, wrapping his hand around Sakura's shoulders. The crowd gasped and Sakura shrugged his arm off, "Come on Sasuke-kun—stop. You do not need an ego boost." He chuckled, smirking, "Of course, Cherry Blossom."

Naruto walked in step with Kakashi, sorry to be behind the 'loving' couple. He scoffed, but pushed the thought away. He felt terrible for seeing Tsunade dead, and Kabuto holding her in his arms sadistically. If he'd just run a little faster, or maybe took the elevator instead of the stairs, none of this would be happening. Kakashi noticed Naruto's sullen expression, and asked, "Sasuke and Sakura bothering you?" Naruto shook his head, walking up the first step, "No, just Tsunade. I mean, Kakashi, we saw her dead. Don't you think if we went a different way or took the elevator instead of the stairs, she wouldn't be dead right now?" Kakashi shrugged, clicking his tongue, "You never know Naruto. It might've been you in her position if we were a little earlier." He sucked in this new insight, and shook his head, waiting for his turn at seeing the body.

Sakura gazed at her sensei's forever frozen body, and started to reach out and touch her cheek, only to have Sasuke grab her hand softly, trying not to hurt her feelings. He could tell by the distant look in Sakura's eyes that all she wanted to do was reach out and touch her sensei, and make her come back to life. She continued staring at the blonde's body, not wanting to leave. She just wanted to lay a hand on her and have her wake up, telling her not to touch her when she was sleeping, and to go get her some sake. Sakura had so much she wanted to tell Tsunade…looking at her eyes Sakura's gaze became forlorn, and all she could see was one of Tsunade's medical books, opened to a page. Sakura couldn't tell the page, the vision was too blurred, but the book seemed scarily familiar.

When her eyes came back to reality, she started crying and Sasuke pulled her into a loving embrace. "She's in a better place, Sakura-chan," He comforted kissing her head softly as she sobbed uncontrollably on his shirt. After a few moments, he let her out of the hug, and helped he walk down the steps as she continued cry, hiding her face in his arm. He watched her tenderly and wished that he'd never see this happen to her again. If she got so emotional over Tsunade, how hysterical would she be, being forced to watch him die in public assembly. Sasuke closed his eyes when he reached the last step, feeling an awkward wind, and rapidly twitched his head up to the right.

He felt someone else's dark chakra, and guessed just about every shinobi did as well. They all watched that area. There was silence as they waited for something to happen and being ninja, wouldn't give up the feeling until long after it disappeared. Hisashi yelled breaking the silence, in his face showing the nerves popping out from using Byakugan, "It's Danzo!" As those words were sputtered, Sai jumped from a rooftop, aiming his small sword directly at Sasuke. He flipped his Sharigan on and shoved Sakura in her father's direction, "Take her somewhere!" He side kicked the coming teen, sending ink all over the place. He cursed, and looked over the makeshift stage. There were ink clones everywhere, and the citizens were screaming and running in a chaotic frenzy. Sasuke searched frantically for the real Sai, and ran toward Naruto who was already in Sage Mode, reading Sasuke's mind. "I'll go east, you'll go west and Kakashi will go south. Neji and Shikamaru have the north!" He yelled, punching another clone, causing it to disappear into ink.

Sasuke nodded and ran in his direction, but stopped to look at Sakura. She was in her father's arms, getting over her tears and insisting she fought as well. He kneeled down and looked at Shishou, as if asking permission to speak. The white haired man nodded. Sasuke wiped the tears lovingly from her face, and kissed her sweetly but quickly, softly but with more emotion ever thought possible, shyly but surely, he spoke in lower than a whisper, "I'm sorry I made this birthday the worst possible, but," He gazed into her eyes and bit his lip, "I—I…don't follow me or get hurt, okay, Sakura?" She furrowed her brow, upset that he wasn't going to let her fight either, and opened her mouth in rebuttal, but nothing came out. Sasuke pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Promise me you won't." She rolled her eyes, nodding, "I won't follow you, I promise." He watched her for any source of untruth, and she suddenly pulled him into a kiss. He was used to kissing her, so his face was already beet red in surprise, and the honesty of the show of affection melted him even further. She released the kiss and smiled walking back into her Dad's arms, "Come back alive, okay?"

He smirked standing, and then saluted her, and ran through the forest at full speed, certain that what he was waiting for was waiting for him to.

* * *

A/N: My chapters are getting extremely long. Geez, it's almost ridiculous. Aren't they so cute? 'Promise me.' 'Okay.' MAKE OUT IN FRONT OF DAD! Booyah. : D Lol.


	11. Chapter 11

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 11

* * *

Sasuke ran through the forest, avoiding every branch, pushing and pulling them out the way, jumping over every overgrown tree root, and dodging each shuriken thrown either at him or toward him. Either way, it was getting on his nerves. He slowed some and searched the thick forest for any form of human life. He breathed heavily, beginning to feel odd and sick in the forest. It started turning, his vision mixing and spinning. The trees leaned in closer to him, and he could've swore he saw a tan girl come out of the tree for a quick second, and stare at him. She had vibrant purple yes, short chestnut hair, and a strong boyish jaw. Her lips were small but pouty naturally, and she smirked at him showing perfect white teeth before she sunk into the ground, disappearing.

He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes, trying to differentiate reality from fantasy. Did she actually…melt into the ground? Sasuke stood maladroitly, grabbing his katana. Whoever she was, she wasn't casting any chakra, and was not on the good side of him right now. He grasped his sword tighter when he heard a branch crack, and spun on his heels, swinging his sword with him. The girl stopped the sword with her kunai and began pushing it closer to Sasuke. Not expecting such strength from such a small girl, she looked no taller than five foot two, he let her gain some ground but began bushing back toward her, creating an epic life or death push war. The girl grunted and fell down quicker than the eye can see. Sasuke flipped on his Sharigan and saw her beginning to swing at the back of his head with her foot, and turned on his heels grabbing her foot as it was a just a centimeter away from his face.

She heaved her other foot up, causing her to spiral up into the air, and then disappear. Sasuke had never fought, or heard of for that matter, anyone who could control actual matter like putty in her hands as she did. Madara's techniques were similar, but he couldn't disappear into solid objects. He was sure it was a type of genjutsu or something. It almost had to be. The girl suddenly appeared behind Sasuke, and held him in a chokehold. He sucked in air, surprised at her speed. He hadn't even seen that with his Sharigan yet. He tried to get loose, but she held tighter. "Who are you?" Sasuke asked, feeling the kunai cut the tender skin on his neck. She chuckled, a wide smile on her face, "My name is Reni. You look confused, Sasuke. You remember me, right?"

Her grasped on his neck relaxed and he turned and really looked at her. He couldn't help gazing into her eyes—they were a hypnotizing purple. She smirked, "I know you remember me, Sasuke-kun…" Her eyes flashed black, pitch black, and Sasuke spiraled back into Orochimaru's liar. He walked awkwardly, each step heavy and clumsy. Sasuke fell to the ground, coughing up blood. The pain was all too real, and he clutched his stomach. The same girl stood above him, laughing, swinging his sword in her fingers. She controlled her giggles, "So that was the first time you lost, huh, Uchiha?" Orochimaru licked his lips at the girl, clapping from his higher ground. The two were younger, no more than thirteen, yet the sadistic man was already making plans. Sasuke looked up into the sky, and the moon twisted, melting and falling down, spiraling down like a faucet would.

Sasuke caught his breath, coming back to what he thought was reality, and grimaced at the girl. "You're unclassified, aren't you?" Sasuke asked, still trying to understand the girl's powers. She was one of those rare ninjas that were born with the mental element—they could control all that their opposer saw and heard and thought, twisting it in whatever way they wanted. Reni rolled her big eyes, "It took you long enough…I'm here to help you, though." He contorted his face. There was no way he could honestly trust anything she said, not when she had the ability to make him believe it. His Dad told him about ninjas like this, but he couldn't recall a single word.

"You tried to kill me," Sasuke seethed, continuing to clutch the handle of his sword until his knuckles turned white. He couldn't bring himself to just kill the annoying girl. It seemed unreal that she was even there, yet he could tell it was all happening in actuality. Reni took three small steps from Sasuke, creating a hand sign, but before she finished the pattern asked, "Do you want me to twist your memories again?" Sasuke frowned, crossing his arms. That was such a stupid question, it didn't deserve a response; he rolled his eyes. Her eyes flashed black again, but this time she closed her eyes, keeping the disturbances away from his mind. He watched as the girl twitched as if she were having a seizure, and faded away into the green overflow of weeds, scaring Sasuke a little. The forest was empty, no sound was heard, and Sasuke bunched his brows in confusion.

He started to leave, but then collapsed to the ground, his hands clawing at the dirt. The green and brown mixed in a sickly way, and the world seemingly turned upside-down. It shook, and Sasuke started coughing up blood, the pain was coming from everywhere, and his nerves were acting against him. A shriek of pain rang in his ears, its pitch too loud to bear, and he held them trying to keep his brain from oozing out of his ears. He closed his eyes together tightly, trying to remind himself that this was all a genjutsu, but it wasn't working. The scream echoed in his brain, along with images of his family dying before his eyes once again. The only difference was the Itachi was enjoying the process so he was laughing uncontrollably the whole time he was stabbing at his parents, again and again and _again. _He then turned to Sasuke then and pierced the crying child directly in the heart, not thinking twice about the action. Sasuke curled together and started screaming hysterically along with the ghastly scream still echoing in his head.

The world spiraled faster, faster and out of control, until everything was back to normal. Sasuke continued to lie on the ground, shuddering. He was cold…his body was still attacking him, but the pain began to subside, and he looked up to Reni, staring distantly at him. He exploded, "You bitch! I thought you said you were going to keep that shit out of my mind?" Reni continued staring, her eyes still black, and she blinked, her eyes returning to their purple shade. She looked apologetically at the pale figure at her feet, and muttered, "I'm sorry. Some of that must've gotten out." Sasuke grimaced and tried getting up on his own, only to fall back down. She grabbed his hand, helping him up. He took it reluctantly, and asked, "How the hell was that supposed to 'help' me?"

The girl frowned, "You think I enjoy what I do to myself and people! I didn't ask for the power to contort people's memories! I was trying to keep _those_ out of your mind. I was going to tell you that you really should go back to Konoha before you leave the village. That could mess up your life in a way that you'd never want." Sasuke glared at her, crossing his arms, still a little dazed and lightheaded. Reni saw this and smiled lightly touching his face and healing his mental nausea for the moment. He lessened the harshness of the gaze toward her, and then she continued, "If you go now you'll miss more than you bargained for later." His eyebrows rose at her vague advice and asked, "What'll I miss?"

She frowned, holding her hand sign, "Would you like me to try and get a clearer vision of what?" Sasuke grabbed her hands and pulled them apart, "Don't. What did you get?" He was frightened of the girl's ability to destroy a person from the inside out, and at her lack of control at keeping her powers inside.

Reni sat on the ground and stared into nothing, seemingly going over all that she saw. Her eyes were gone, and Sasuke was determined to figure out where she came from. It was random for her to come out of nowhere and warn him about all these things. In a few minutes, her eyes coming slightly back into reality and answered, "There was a woman sitting in the hospital bed, screaming in terror and in pain. She looked scared out of her wits, but so sad. She was giving birth to a baby boy, but it was such a hard feat for her because she had lost so many people in her life over a short period. She had tried to solve the mystery of the death of her mother, it seemed like, but she failed, still having so many unanswered questions. Her husband, I'm guessing that's who it was, had died trying to protect the village but ended up betraying the village, and never even knew that she was going to give birth to his child. She was so sad; you could see it in her face. The nurses were trying to get her to just continue to push and save at least the child's life, but the woman sighed, saying her last words gloomily, 'he won't have anyone…I don't want him sad here on this cruel earth when he can be with his mom and dad in heaven…' and then she breathed her last breath." She blinked, her eyes were back in reality, and she watched Sasuke, as he looked downward, "Was that all?"

"That was all I got of the future. I don't get really clear ones—those are usually in black and white and blurry, so…I kind of lost it there, the future is always changing based on the persons mind and their choices." Sasuke looked past Reni, and thought still about her vision. He had no idea how it was even related to his life, he—he, he'd never even… "Reni, who'd the husband look like?" The girl grew more distant, starting to fade away with the wind. She shook her head, refusing to disappear again. She had to help Sasuke. His life depended so much on what he learned and did right now. She dissolved into the leaves, whispering a barely audible, "You….don't—don't...."

Sasuke started to run after her, asking her repeatedly to repeat what she was saying. He swore he heard correctly but just incase, he chased after the floating figure as it melted away, and wanting to hear what else she had to say. He tripped over a stem, falling and twisting the ankle he wasn't to walk on. Sasuke squinted, seeing the outline of the girl fade completely away smiling and waving goodbye. His head fell as the pain in his ankle reached the rest of his body, freezing him. Though it was morning, just before his eyes closed it was dark, darker than night itself. The cold wind of a spring night howled, "Don't hold her back…"

* * *

The morning sun rose high, waking everyone from such a long day and night. The birds didn't dare chirp, and the rabbits stayed silent. It seemed more like winter by the silence than the usual bright May, and the village was still reacting from the random battle the erupted during Tsunade's funeral. Most of the villagers remained alive, destroying every ink clone. After many hours of more and more appearing, and never the real Sai showing, they stopped attacking the pointless figures, and let the sun melt them. They learned if the clones weren't attacked, they wouldn't react in the obvious way and multiply, creating even more unnecessary havoc. Kakashi ran back to the village and yelled at the chaos when he saw it, "It's a distraction for Pete's Sake! No one is even around the village waiting to attack. The enemy, whoever it may be, is testing us! So why don't we just relax and ready our attack plan for when the attack again."

Later on, Kakashi was declared Hokage until it was proven that Tsunade was dead. It was such a mystery because unlike every other normal deceased body, Tsunade wasn't decaying. Sakura took this, as more information to learn in helping her narrow down the medical books that would help her crack the case. She was sure that this was all some huge distraction and people were starting to believe that was true. Sasuke was found the same day he was lost—thankfully he actually stayed on the path Naruto told him to go on—and was back at the hospital, and Sakura was visiting him. They just started allowing them to today, and Sakura was the first to appear, before the hospital was even open, unlocking the opening doors with her own key.

Sakura knocked carefully on Sasuke's door, and stepped in after hearing, "It's open." Her heels clicked and Sasuke stared at her, starting to smile. It'd been the longest since he'd seen anybody. The nurses were convinced it was bad for him to see people—since he sometimes reacted differently when different things were mentioned—and he honestly missed everyone, especially Sakura. She let her hair grow out long again, and he was happy about this. Though he'd never told her, he really liked her better with longer hair. She came over and hugged him, beginning to cry happy tears as she hugged her back. Sasuke pulled her back and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

He scooted over on the bed and pulled her up with him and she rubbed the back of his head as he filled the kiss with all the passion of missing her, missing her hair, her smile, her laugh, her everything—and groaned in pain as he leaned on an arm the way. Sakura released the kiss and grabbed his arm, inspecting it almost immediately. Sasuke smirked; she was such a nurse. He watched intently as she rose and grabbed some gauze to rewrap the wound herself, because whoever did this did a terrible job, and his eyebrows borrowed in. Something looked different about her, and couldn't figure it out. He stared at her silently and she glanced his way with a smile, "What?" Then after a few minutes, she remembered that she hadn't told him yet, since he was in the hospital and all.

Blushing, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her lower abdomen, pushing a little. His mouth opened slightly from surprise and he gazed at her emerald orbs. He smirked, "It's a baby?" Sakura smiled widely trying to contain all of her excitement. She jumped a little, "Yeah! Sasuke, I'm pregnant! Do you believe it?" Sasuke shook his head, because honestly he couldn't. "It's my baby?" He asked again, short of breath this time. Sakura bit her lip, trying to control her coming shriek of joy. "Uh-huh! I'm only two months so—Sasuke! Don't faint! That's bad!" She shook him lightly out of his trance, and he opened his eyes lazily, asking again, all the shock apparent in his voice, "It's _our_ baby?"

She nodded, "I found out last week, but the people wouldn't let me in your room because you were in such an unstable condition, but you're still the first one to know, Sasuke-kun." Sakura then grabbed the gauze and began wrapping it around his scarred arm, as if she didn't just give him the most exciting news of his life. He placed his hand on his forehead, still astonished. He smiled, laughing some, "Wow…I'm a Dad, Sakura-chan. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl or if it's healthy or not or—" She covered his mouth, "I haven't even gone to the doctor yet. I tested myself after I missed my period. Like I said, nobody but us knows about the widdle cutie."

Sakura started smiling as her face reddened, Sasuke's stare intesifying as he touched her warm cheek. She giggled, leaning on his hand, smiling. He stared at her lovingly, and kissed her forehead softly, whispering, "I love you…and your goofy laugh..."

* * *

A/N: It's not the end! I promise! It'll just take me a while to figure out where to go from here. Just in case you're wondering, Reni is my OC. I made her about three years ago, and her technique is complicated. It's like…she can travel through matter at high speeds, control the human emotions, and see and/or control their thoughts and future. It's like you know how Sasuke is a fire element and he can do all the fire crud? Well Reni is like a Matter element and can do all the matter crud. Just thought I'd explain.

Next chap I'll explain some more!


	12. Chapter 12

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 12

A/N: I thought of something! XD

* * *

Sakura stared at him wide-eyed; her lips moved up into a small natural, happy, surprised smile when she whispered, "W-What was that, Sasuke-kun?" She almost refused to hear it. Did he really just…? He randomly announced his love for her without a stutter, without some drawn out pointless speech. He'd looked at her in the eye in his sweet caring way that she missed more than anything she ever had while he was in intensive care, and told her what she always wanted to hear. Sakura bit her lip as Sasuke stroked her cheek as soft as she thought possible, then leaned his forehead on hers affectionately.

He leaned closer to her, lips almost touching, barely touching, almost there. Sakura could feel his body heat and just wanted to crash onto his lips but refused, enjoying the tension between them. His taste was just centimeters away from her and she couldn't help it. Sakura wanted him, and she wanted him now. She burned brightly at the pressure, as his deep sexy voice murmured, lips brushing hers as he spoke slightly annoyed, but slightly glad that he had to repeat himself, "I said that I love—"

The door clicked open then, with a loud Naruto yelling, "Sasuke-teme! How's your—oh. I'm sorry…I'll just go and—" Sasuke grimaced, grunting. The Dobe had to come and ruin something else. Sakura averted her gaze to Naruto, flicking her head away from Sasuke, covering her mouth in embarrassment for a few minutes. Sasuke continued glaring at his teammate, more than steamed. He was _this_ close to diving into and drowning in her ocean. _This_ close and he just had to decide to visit him now. Sakura was obviously upset as well, but controlled and diminished her negative feelings better than Sasuke could. She said calmly, though her voice was obviously agitated, "Naruto-kun, you don't have to go if you don't want. Sasuke and I just weren't expecting anyone else to pop in, that's all." The blonde eyed Sasuke nervously but smiled anyway, "Alright!" He pumped his left arm in the air, moving his casted right awkwardly.

Sakura laughed at him, and then kissed Sasuke lightly on the nose, seeing he was still upset. He smirked to himself as her cherry lips left his skin, humming in contentment, his mood immediately changing. She skipped away from Sasuke with lots of energy, and punched Naruto in the head. "Baka! Have you ever heard of knocking! Now what if we were actually doing things—yeah, then I wouldn't be just punching you!" She yelled, showing her anger management problems and strength. She was known for this, and Sasuke couldn't help but stifle a laugh as Naruto cried mockingly while laughing, "Ouch—Sakura-chan! That really hurt!" After a few seconds of the three laughing, Naruto continued talking, "Anyway, Kakashi said that this creepy girl from the west gate messed with your mind. Care to explain the details?"

Sasuke crossed his arms and stared into space. He was sure he didn't want to go back down that memory lane, and he definitely didn't want to take Sakura down there with him. He let out a breath of air, figuring out his thoughts. It was ridiculous trying to let his friends know what happened without hurting them as well. "I—the girl was named Reni. She was an unclassified—you know mental/matter element like Tobi, kind of. She can warp your memories in a good way or a bad. I guess she didn't like me so she messed me up a little," Sasuke nodded toward his ankle, lying, "I kicked her too hard." Sakura sat in the lounge chair provided for her and leaned her head on her hand, looking at him as his eyes wandered from reality to fantasy. She sighed, "I knew you didn't let your foot heal right…anyway, it was Genjutsu, right, Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto started to lean on his right arm as he usually did when listening, but whined when the cast stopped him from doing that too. He switched to his left, feeling uncomfortable. He was left hand dominant when eating, writing, and fighting, but he used his right for everything else. He sighed, paying attention to Sasuke as he spoke again, answering Sakura's question, "That's what I thought it was, but it scarred a little deeper than normal genjutsu, and I couldn't knock myself out of it." His eyes wandered again, hearing that earsplitting scream, he clenched his teeth, swallowing, "I'm sure it's more complicated than it seems ."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow, "Huh. I only read once about them. You know, they're usually terrible fighters when they're forced to us Taijutsu. They depend on their ability to shift through the space-time continuum to make them seem fast as light itself, but once they get caught in it, they almost never get out of their genjutsu. It seems like they can never be defeated, but once you can hold them down and keep them from shifting, they basically fail. The mind tricky is supposedly just the person invading your brain, and controlling how you see, think, feel, and remember. It really takes a lot of the user, though. I think that's just a theory, a sketchy one." Sasuke smirked. He was proud of her intellect toward such a hard subject that he didn't even fully understand. He didn't even know that. He just figured that was raw speed talent, and that Matters could only control the mind, and maybe the air once they got good enough.

She smiled, cutely blushed, and added, "I had to learn about all the elements and how to heal them and that one caught my attention." Naruto scratched his head, still confused though he pretended to understand when asking, "So she basically changed your memory?" Sasuke shook his head, trying to keep it from coming back, "No, Naruto. She just introduced another version that seemed clearer and more believable than the past one." Both of his friends sighed, understanding fully now his point of view. It must be very hard to convince yourself that the blurry unsure memory was the right one while there was always the clearer one there, it hurt more, but it seemed more realistic even though it was false. Sakura's eyes casted downward, feeling sorry for Sasuke when she asked randomly, "Does anybody want apple—"

Her sweetheart piped in, rising a hand, "Granny Smith—the green ones, babe." Sakura raised her eyebrows in confusion, but soon smiled, "I was going to say apple strawberry pancakes, put I'll use those kind, Sasuke-kun. You want some too, Naruto?" He smirked back, watching as she clicked away and out the door after seeing Naruto's nod, leaving the two best friends in the room. Naruto studied Sasuke for a long minute. He didn't get how such an ice cube could suddenly melt and be that close to making out with Sakura while in the hospital. Did he really care that there was the possibility that he could snap a cord causing him to die? Apparently not, but that just disturbed Naruto, because Sasuke was still Sasuke even though he was a lot more self-sacrificing to those he cared about. Sasuke tilted his head at his friend's confused face and asked, "What, Dobe?"

"Did you really call Sakura 'babe'?" He asked, humor sparkled across his face and stretched in his smile. Sasuke smirked scratching the back of his head, showing false humility, which turned out to be arrogance, "Whatever, Naruto. Did you get with Hinata-san, yet?" His lined face blushed as he smiled, and he laughed, shaking off the nerves. "Aw, Sasuke you know—"

"Nah, Naruto, I get it—"

"Sasuke, I mean I—"

"I'm ignoring you because you're making no sense…"

"I'm not making sense? Girls don't make sense, Teme," Naruto said, causing Sasuke to stop teasing him for his little crush. The Uchiha shrugged and thought of Sakura and her unpredictability. He grinned, saying, "You have a point, Dobe. Yet we just have to keep on until we understand them."

* * *

Sakura strolled down the filling streets of the village, happy to see it back to mostly normal. People smiled and waved at her as she walked down the road and to the market, getting the ingredients for the pancakes. She pushed the door open, and greeted Kiba, who working here instead of teaching at the summer school like most of the other Rookies. Sakura and Naruto were both excused from their teaching to go see Sasuke this morning. The kids didn't mind though, that meant that they got to miss a day of school when everyone else had to go.

Kiba smiled his toothy smile, "Hey, Mrs. Uchi—oh, I mean, Sakura-chan," He laughed, and threw her a basket. Sakura blushed catching the plastic and smiled at the jokester, "That wasn't funny, Kiba. Will you be here in fifteen minutes or will your shift be over?" He glanced at his wristwatch, and nodded his head, "Maybe. You trying to get a discount?" Sakura nodded shyly. Money wasn't the best situation for her, since her parents had her make her own and spend her own money. It wasn't that embarrassing when she was with friends, because they all knew he situation (she used to complain all the time) but when she was in public, complaining about her lack of dollars was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Sasuke did have money, but she felt bad if she would be spending his all the time. Kiba smiled ear-to-ear, "Anything for Sakura. Tell me how Sasuke's doing when you come to checkout, 'kay?" She smiled back, "Of course."

She walked to aisle ten, and grabbed a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, flour, some cinnamon, and started to grab some strawberries, but then saw a giant chocolate bar. Her eyes widened, and she reached out for it, the Hallelujah Chorus ringing in her ears. It was perfect—milk chocolate, almonds…delicious. She grasped the chocolate as a toddler was about to, and held it against her chest selfishly. The child started crying, "Gimme! I wants cocolade!" Sakura stuck her tongue out, but quickly realized her fault, and gave the child the candy, smiling, "I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to have chocolate so; I guess I really wanted it, but you want it more." The baby smiled, wiping away its tears as it grabbed the delicacy and toddled back to his mother. Sakura smiled at the cuteness; however, she soon realized her fault. She was seriously going to take candy from a baby. She shook her head, and grabbed the strawberries and put them in her basket.

That was so odd for her to do. Sakura never ate chocolate before; at least not enough to think about making an _infant_ cry in order to have the cocoa. What was her problem? It was like something was controlling her by making her want something she would've passed up otherwise. Then it hit her like a brick. "Oh. The baby," She sighed. She didn't believe she forgot she was pregnant. Sure she didn't look like she was, but the mother should always know that she has a child. How ridiculous would it be, if a mother did forget about their baby? Sakura laughed to herself, picking out the best apples. Most were okay, but Sakura was the fussiest girl in the world nowadays. Sakura reached out and grabbed a fifth apple, placing it softly in the cart.

She was still shocked. How could she forget she was going to have a baby with _Sasuke_? Every girl in Konoha would be bawling tears of joy if they received her news, and yet Sakura forgot. She felt so guilty. Her kid wanted chocolate and she'd given it to some stranger. How could she do that? She reached Kiba's checkout lane and placed her items on the run. She popped her lips as she put each item down, and Kiba stared at her with entertained eyes. "It's 12.80, Sakura. Did you forget to take your medicine this morning?" He laughed, taking the money from her, and then giving her twenty cents change. She smiled widely, "I don't need to take medicine unlike some people….hey, I'm sorry but I don't know if I should be telling everyone Sasuke's situation, so," She apologized weighing her hands.

Kiba pouted, "Aw! I really wanted to know. Dang, well, why're getting all this food?"

"Sasuke-kun wants some strawberry apple pancakes…," She answered, taking the bag as Kiba handed it to her. He turned off his light, and locked his station's door, finally clicking his tongue, "Wow! You're cooking for him…," Sakura blushed, "…that's hot. I've never heard of strawberry apple pancakes though. It's a family recipe?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. I have to go and cook before I pass out. I'm so tired, Kiba."

"Ah, long nights, short days! I love it!" He laughed, "I'll see you later, Sakura-chan."

She smiled, waving goodbye to him, thinking _Kiba is such a flirt…Sasuke is going to kill him…._

* * *

Shishou sat in his living room chair as Sakura ran back and forth through the kitchen trying to cook. She never cooked for him, so why in the hell was she covering herself in flour trying to mix pancakes. She screamed as the powder touched her skin, and through her arms in the air, "Ugh! Daddy, go get Momma! I can't deal with this thing!" His daughter ran to him a few seconds later, with a dough-filled spoon, white in her hair and on her skin and an upset look on her face. Shishou smiled, "I like your makeover, Sakura-chan." She crossed her eyes, and flicked some flour in her Dad's face. He laughed and stood up, "Alright let me help you out, baby."

Sakura smiled brightly, and dragged her Dad to the destroyed kitchen. There were eggs cracked on the floor wall and ceiling (?), sugar stuck all over the place, strawberries and apples crushed on the tile, the mixer was sticky with wet cinnamon and vanilla. Only one pancake was finished, and it was the blackest burned pancake Shishou had ever seen. Sakura kneeled over and picked up an eggshell, placing it carefully on the island with a curt nod. Her dad tightened his lips, "You shouldn't cook on your own. I think your only friends in the kitchen right now are the microwave and me." When he said that, the microwave beeped, and shut down with a drowning 'beep-beep-booop'. She covered her face out of embarrassment. Sakura couldn't cook for Sasuke. She could barely cook for herself. She started to cry, her shoulders shaking.

He jumped in shock, but quickly pulling her into a hug. "Sakura…now I know you're not crying over some pancakes…." She looked up at him, rubbing her eyes, "No, I'm not. I'm just really tired but Naruto and Sasuke-kun wanted some pancakes and I wanted to make them some." Shishou rolled his eyes and wiped the flour off her face with a touch only a father could provide. Sakura laughed, "Are you going to help me, Daddy? I promise they're for Naruto, too, so don't be mad at Sasuke-kun…especially considering I'm…" She looked up to him, wiping down the counter, and then lowering her voice and muttering, "Pregnant." He stopped searching the refrigerator for more milk, since it was all on the linoleum tile, and eyed her intrusively, "What was that, Baby?"

She scratched her nose and pretended to crack an egg, "Um…pregnant, schmegnant, legment...I-I broke my ligament." The fridge shut with a slam, and Shishou grabbed a bowl, mixing the ingredients hastily out of anger, "You broke your ligament? Really now, Sakura-chan, which one?" She cut up the apples into small pieces, ignoring her father's harsh stare. She had to tell him at one point. She continued chopping until that was the only sound echoing the house, and he bellowed, "Baby! Answer me." Sakura jumped at his tone, a tone he barely used with her, and she bit her lip, answering nervously, "Baby…" She was shaking so hard that she had to stop cutting the apple. She stared in the complete opposite direction of Shishou, at the oven. He added the apples Sakura cut to his mixture that already contained strawberries, swirling the components together. Shishou finished mixing and passed that bowl to Sakura, asking carefully, "Baby, what?"

Sakura covered her eyes, laughing dryly to herself. This was terrible. She grabbed the bowl passed to her and poured it onto the griddle, getting about four round pastries. She watched as the tan top of the pancake bubbled, and decided it was time to flip each one over. "I—I just really like babies…," She sighed, going through her drawers looking for a spatula. She'd searched every drawer for the kitchen necessity and she started freaking out. The pancakes were going to burn again. Her Dad turned her over by the shoulders, and shoved the red spatula in her face, "Flip the pancakes, Sakura." She did as told, and Shishou added more and more dough on the griddle after each came off and placed on a large plate. Sakura felt overwhelmed, never clearing the heated platter, with there always being more for her to flip. He watched as his daughter became irritated, and he slowed down the flow of the last drops of batter. She looked up to him with her big light green eyes, but the nerves soon took over and she looked down, and then cleared her throat, "I'm, uh, pregnant, Daddy."

He dropped the now empty plastic bowl, and growled, tightening his fists, "Who's the Father?" Sakura's eyes widened, and they shuddered as she stammered, "I-I-I…D-Daddy calm down!" Her yell echoed through the house, causing a few birds by the window to scatter. The family members stared at each other angrily, and he ordered, using the Daddy Voice, "Sakura, lift up your shirt." She shook her head back and forth, biting her lip. Shishou could tell that a woman was pregnant and who the father was just by focusing his chakra on the area the baby should be in. He rolled his eyes, "Do it, Sakura!" She yelped and jumped back a little, hiding her face as she started crying. His eyes softened at her distressed expression and he asked softly, filled with guilt, "I'm sorry, Baby. I just want to know; I'm still a dad. It's normal for me to become paranoid when you announce you're," he choked on the word, "pregnant."

Sakura wiped her tears, and lifted her camisole above her navel, walking carefully closer to her Dad. He glanced at her, "You're not just going to tell me who?" She shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand. She knew that he wouldn't believe her if she just said it, and then he would probably go on some storming rampage, through town. This way was better for the both of them. If she wasn't pregnant, then nothing had happened and the test she gave herself was inaccurate, but if she were, her father would accept it quicker if he found out for himself. Shishou placed a warm chakra infused hand on Sakura's stomach warily, closing his eyes as he concentrated. He searched for the baby's chakra, and flicked his hazel eyes upward, praying that he was wrong about this. This could be the first time his technique failed. He could accept that.

Sakura bit her lip as she removed her hand, and whispered, "Are you surprised, Daddy?" Shishou chuckled and kissed his daughter's cheek, softly, pulling down her shirt for her. He answered, shaking his head, "No. Your baby's definitely an Uchiha…," He looked downward, still saddened, "but as long as he loves you and you love him, I think I'll start to learn how to get used to it." Sakura gasped and jumped onto her Dad, hug attacking him. "No way, Daddy! You're seriously going to try?" He nodded and moved Sakura's bangs, kissing her forehead. "I'll tell you if it's a boy or girl in about a month or two. Right now, I need to go train. Here; bring the boys their pancakes."

She took the plate, "Okay, Dad. I'll bring Sasuke over as soon as he gets released, I promise." In the backyard, the cracking of a tall elm tree could be heard cracking and falling into the forest. Sakura gaped…her dad was pissed off.

* * *

A/N: Sakura can_not_ cook! Ha! Yeah, her Dad was in the 'oh hell naw, the Uchiha did not…' attitude when he broke that tree! XD Wow, this is fun.


	13. Chapter 13

All's Fair in Love and War

NaruBaby2496

Chapter 13

* * *

Sakura was in her own bed wide-awake, feeling awkward. It'd been the longest since she slept in her own bed. She spent all of her time over Naruto's house, waiting until they announced that visitation was open for Sasuke. She slept in his bed while he stayed on the couch during the night. That was just about the hardest time for Sakura, wondering what they were doing to her Sasuke-kun. All of the nurses were female, except for maybe one or two, and Sakura was quite jealous. She was disallowed to help with Sasuke because they feared she would get to personally involved with this patient; and nobody could. Apparently, from what Kakashi told her, Sasuke had really had some mental damage done to him when he found him, but when she visited yesterday it didn't seem like that. Maybe the nurses, doctors, and healers really diminished the concentration of the damage. She'd hoped so.

Even though it seemed like Sasuke still had those terrible images Reni put in his head, it seemed like he was handling them well. He wouldn't wake up screaming, or go into a distant place without returning. He was in control of his thoughts for the most part. Sakura flipped on her side. Beside the Sasuke issue, she had Tsunade on her mind. Her dreams continued to contain only that page of that medical book blurrily. She almost cursed herself for not being able to get a better vision. There were millions of billions of red medical books in Tsunade's office, and most all of them had a page 746. Sakura rubbed her temples, getting annoyed by this again. It was a hint, yes, but it was the worst hint in the goddamn world. She had to get all this information and more in order to get over just one-step, and that step was colossal. All of these things were placed on her shoulders, her small shoulders.

She blinked slowly, growing tired. The owls were hooting outside melodiously, helping Sakura drift off into her slumber. Her eyes closed, and the first thing she saw was that book, opened to that stupid page. Her eyes flicked open as she groaned, stuffing her head in her pillow. "Stupid, stupid, stupid dream!" She growled, punching her mattress. It bounced, making her go into the air slightly. It was all too confusing. Why couldn't she get a better hint?

Her window opened suddenly, making her turn quickly in that direction. She had locked her window before she got into bed, so who could it possibly be? Her eyes searched the darkness for anything, and Sakura felt her hear race. It was too quiet. There was no sound of breathing but hers and she felt the sudden need to defend herself. It couldn't be just a coincidence that her locked window was now open and it was awkwardly still in her bedroom. She reached for a kunai that she kept under her giant teddy bear, but touched a familiar figure. She frowned at him, "Jesus, Sasuke-kun! Don't scare me like that!"

He smirked, "Who else did you think it was? You know the founders boosted up the security ever since…you know," He leaned into a plush stuffed animal, relaxing, "I don't think I've ever been in your house before anyway." Sakura adjusted her pillow, letting her sit up as Sasuke was, and she lifted an eyebrow, "Yeah you have, haven't you?" He opened his arms, allowing her to lay her head on his chest (she did), and hugged her, "No. Why aren't you asleep, it's two in the morning?" She shrugged her shoulders and stroked his strong arms softly. "I was having a weird dream that won't go away. What are you doing out of the hospital with your unstable condition?"

Sasuke chuckled, kissing her pink head, "Limping to Haruno Sakura's house to kiss her." Sakura blushed a bright red. Her eyes twinkling, and bit her lip, counting her blessings, she gazed into his dark eyes, feeling her face heat up about twenty degrees higher. No one could guess how much Sasuke hid in his eyes, how much want, need and passion for his Sakura he showed just by looking at her. There was no need for him to tell her everyday that he loved her—what he did and what he tried to hide was enough to convince anyone if he were to see it. He crashed onto her lips, bruising them on contact. He hungrily licked at her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Sakura gasped for air, allowing Sasuke to enter. He explored every crevice her mouth, memorizing it, enjoying her reaction. After she got over her shock, he wrestled for dominance with her, caressing the curves of her hips.

When air became a necessity, he released the kiss, remaining close. His face was still flushed, when he smirked, "Breathe, Sakura." As she blinked her long pink eyelashes tickled his skin, and she laughed with him, "I forgot. Is that all you came here for, Sasuke-kun?" He placed another kiss on her lips, a peck, and answered, "Not really. It is more than boring in that hospital room; they stopped giving me anesthesia so I couldn't get to sleep. You weren't at my or Naruto's place, so I came here."

"You know you shouldn't be out of the hospital. Did the even give you a release date yet?"

He chuckled, "Sakura-chan, relax, they said I could leave whenever I wanted just before they left." Sakura studied his face for a long minute, and she crossed her arms, "I'm sure they meant in the morning, not two hours after they suggested you could leave. You're walking on a broken ankle, and climbing into my room with a broken wrist."

Sasuke ignored the pain throbbing on his foot, and crossed his arms, "Hn, I liked the pancakes you made for us yesterday."

"Good, they took me a long time to make. Oh! That reminds me, I told my dad about the baby." Sasuke groaned, not trying to conceal his disgust. Shishou did not like him at all just touching Sakura, and now he had solid proof that he'd screwed her. He frowned, "Now why'd you go and decide to do that, Sakura?" She grimaced, insulted at how selfish he was being. "He was going to find out at some point. I mean, I was feeling a little guilty for keeping it from my Dad. He knew anyway—" Sasuke covered her mouth with a hand and listened closely to what was going on down the hall. Sakura ripped his hand away, "I was talking!" He growled in a low tone, "God, Sakura, shut up, your Dad is coming! Where's your closet?" She glared at him for a quick second, and soon heard the footsteps Sasuke was hearing. Sakura pointed to the closet, "It's over there. See you when Dad leaves?" He got up from the mattress, "Aa," and lightly kissed her lips.

She lay out on her bed, arm across her head, and pretended to be asleep. She let her breathing slow even further when she heard her closet click closed, and relaxed in the cool breeze created by her open window. This is the first time in a long time that she let herself seriously think about falling asleep without the book appearing in her brain. Even if she was pretending, this comforted her tired eyes. Shishou knocked on her door three quick times, and then opened it, smiling lightly seeing his daughter sleep so peacefully. "Sakura-chan?" Pretending to be woken, Sakura rubbed her eyes and slurred, "What do you want, Daddy?"

"I—I, is Sasuke in here?"

* * *

The sun rose slowly, and even slower, Kakashi yawned asleep, wiping his drool from the desk. He figured that if he never left his new office, he'd never be late. Apparently, the founders didn't like it when the Hokage was late by a few hours. It was ridiculous how they expected _him_ to be hours _early_. He scoffed, opening another big rulebook. He was supposed to memorize this. Why would anyone want this job? You just sat in a big comfortable chair all day and read rulebooks. Sometimes you did something different—like give shinobi missions—but doing nothing was all you did for the majority of the day. Kakashi much rather be a sensei again.

His door opened fast, and a short girl he'd never seen before in the village stumbled inside the office. He would've laughed if he weren't Hokage, but rumor has it that, he had to be polite to strangers. He didn't understand that logic, you should be hostile toward strangers, just to let them know that you shouldn't mess with Konoha. The girl grabbed a table, holding herself up from falling. She was an obvious klutz, Kakashi could tell that just by watching her stumble in to the room, but she was cute, and looked strangely familiar. His stare thinned as he studied her, trying to remember where she saw her. The freckles on her tan skin across her nose, copper hair only a touch darker than her skin was short, cut right to the earlobe, and showed her boyish jaw.

As soon as the girl lifted her head from the ground with a smile, Kakashi remembered where he saw her. She was that figure he saw melt away into the sky when he found Sasuke. His guess was reassured when he saw her vibrant purple eyes. The girl laughed dryly, "Geez, I'm sorry. I really need to stop running." Her smile was bright as she reached a little hand out to Kakashi. He shook it warily, almost afraid of the girl and her sudden friendliness. "I'm Reni Omoi. I don't belong to a village and I want to join yours." Kakashi thought back, avoiding all contact with her eyes. They freaked him out. "Isn't Omoi a ninja from the Kumogakure?" He asked twisting a pencil in his fingers. Reni popped her lips, leaning back into a chair, "I don't know, maybe. So, can I join?"

Kakashi shook his head, "You just can't trip into my office and think you're going to be admitted to the village, not when we just had an attack on our Hokage. I need to be convinced you're not a double agent or something. So, talk, tell me the story of your life and why you think it'd be so much better here in Konoha." Her shoulders slumped while she pouted, but she quickly gave in.

"Well, I'm 17 and a little more than a third years old…I lost basically all of my family when I was ten because an attack on our land. We were never a part of a village or anything—just travelers. Some people believe my brother killed everyone, since it's hard to detect the people of my clan. I have, well we had, extremely concealed chakra because we're so connected to the Earth, and it's all natural for the most part in the chakra department. I use mainly genjutsus, I think that's what ninjas call it, and I have an eye technique. I don't even know what it's called, to be honest. I can…well…it's hard to explain. People call my family unclassified, mental, or matter elements. That just means when I focus all my 'chakra' on my opponent and my eyes usually go, like, pitch black. Then I can search the person's memories and see their future. Since the past already happened, I can change it to my liking. It really hurts my mind, so it's hard to think how much it hurts my challenger. Um…on the matter part, it's all an eye trick when I 'melt' into things and make surroundings twist and turn and contort. The unclassified is when I disappear in thin air and show back up at the speed of light. It's all a genjutsu, a powerful genjutsu, which confuses and sometimes kills. I suck at everything else though."

Kakashi continued eyeing her for a while, and then asked slowly, "Like a magic trick that hurts?" Reni nodded quickly, "Uh-huh. I'm trying to figure out how to, like, _lift_ things and then move them. The farthest I've gotten is a couple inches up and to the left with a paper clip." He stared, completely at awe. Was this girl serious? All of this seemed completely and utterly—Kakashi turned his head to see a small silver paper clip levitating in the air, and starting to move closer toward him. He watched her eyes slit in concentration as she bit her lip, and moved her finger slowly, "I almost got it…"

"You're really weird," He spoke, watching as the paper clip fell abruptly. Reni frowned, her nose scrunching in disgust, "Look, I know this all seems just a big faux but I'm one hundred twenty billion percent serious. I _know_ it doesn't make any sense what I can do, but I just can. I'm the only one left, so I think it'd be beneficial for you and Konoha for you to just let me in! Moreover, I'm trying to be nice by not imaging your head squishing and sending that to your brain! So don't get me pissed off before I kill you from the inside out!"

He gasped slightly, and watched her as she stood from her seat, now her eyes darkening. "U-Uh…how about you relax and not melt my brain just yet?" She plopped into the chair, agitatedly smacking her face as her head was placed on her head. She glared at Kakashi, but locked her mouth with a key and pretended to throw it astray. She smiled reluctantly, and Kakashi continued, "You came here not to join Konoha but to help us out right? Since you saw into the future with Sasuke, and don't want all of to have that terrible fate?" Reni nodded, emphasizing the silent treatment. "Alright. Do you work for anyone?" Her eyebrows furrowed, and shook her head from left to right. "What were you doing at our west gate then?" She shrugged. "You were bored?" She shrugged again. "You had a vision?" She nodded.

"Okay. I semi-trust you. How did you get in? We have crazy security now." Reni rose an eyebrow arrogantly, "The same way I got out. I traveled with the wind—this time purposely."

"Oh. Well, why don't you go find a house and stay awhile? We could use you." Keeping her prideful attitude, she hopped out of the chair, "You're welcome," She then ran out of the room, pulling open the door, and then finally tripping hard on the floor, creating a loud boom. "God! I have to stop running!" She had the worst coordination in the world.

* * *

Sasuke sat at Sakura's kitchen table, already feeling awkward because of the brightness of the room. It was enough that Rei had cooked a full course breakfast just because he was here, it was plenty that Sakura had convinced Shishou that he hadn't done anything in her room that night, it was exceedingly adequate that he was actually allowed to stay in the house and be treated like a well-wanted guest. It was the most uncomfortable, though, how Shishou stabbed his waffles with his fork, glaring at Sasuke from across the table whenever the girls weren't looking. Sasuke couldn't even take the glare of the overprotective father, and he let out a breath he'd been holding when Sakura sat next to him, making the glare disappear almost instantaneously. Sakura smiled as she handed Sasuke his plate, "I hope you like banana waffles, Sasuke-kun." He started to kiss her, letting her know his answer without words, but stopped halfway there as he heard a utensil bang the ceramic plate. He looked at Shishou glare at him for a second, then at Sakura, answering, "I like banana waffles very much, Sakura," he nodded toward Rei, "Thank you for baking for me. I might come by more often—the food smells delicious."

Rei smiled after cutting her own pastries, and she returned the gesture, "You are very welcome, Sasuke. I heard that you're a father now?" Sasuke blushed lightly, and smirked, "Yeah. I—" Sakura's father interrupted, "Can you pass the syrup, Sakura, Baby?" Sakura sucked in air, creating a hiss, but controlled her anger. This was so out of character for her Dad to be acting like such a jerk toward Sasuke. Sure, he had the right to be hostile toward her boyfriend, but, he didn't have the right to disrespect him so blatantly. It was slightly expected from Shishou, though, because he was protective of his only child and daughter, who just happened to be a Daddy's Girl. She understood that it was hard for him to let go, even just a little, and share his girl with Sasuke. Sakura reached for the warm fresh syrup and passed it across the table to her Dad, "Here you go. What were you saying, Sasuke-kun?" He swallowed his waffle, "Um, I was just going to say I really wanted this kid." Shishou added, "You become attached to your children even more once you hold them for the first time."

Sasuke glared slightly, but nodded, "I heard." Sakura laughed at Sasuke's answer, barely containing herself, "Sasuke, you're acting so different! Come on, you don't have to be overly polite here—Mom really doesn't care as long as you don't chew with your mouth open." He smirked softly and stole one of Sakura's grapes off her plate, popping it in his mouth. She parted her lips in surprise, and then rolled her eyes, figuring it was just a grape and she would get him back later. "You know, my little team I got for this summer is just so cute. Akihiro asked me what a shuriken was and why it made him a get a boo-boo. I almost pulled him into the biggest hug in the world! He's just so cute!" Sakura exclaimed, happy for her first real team. She always wanted to help the little kids get started early, so she took this experience with open arms. Sasuke shook some pepper on his grits and asked, "When do I get my team?" He tried being nonchalant when he rubbed his wrist trying to relieve the throbbing pain, but in a household of Medic Nins, they all noticed quickly.

"You hurt your hand, Sasuke?" Rei asked, drinking her orange juice. Sasuke shook his held, lying, but Sakura said anyway, "Yeah. He never let it heal right." The mother sighed with a smile, "You better get over yourself, Sasuke. You could seriously damage your hand." Sasuke rolled his eyes—only in this house would they take a broken joint so seriously. He could deal with it, and as long as he did, it would heal all right eventually. "I feel just fine. My ankle's alright, too."

Shishou piped in, "If you like walking I advise you get some crutches," He looked into Sasuke's eyes, searching for something nobody else at the table could determine, "and you might want to get some glasses. You've damaged your cornea using Mangekoyou so much." Sasuke ate his last bit of his breakfast, seemingly ignoring what he suggested. He could see fine—he had the ability to make out who is who and what is what, so he is in a good situation for the moment. Sakura finished soon after, and hugged Sasuke's arm, smiling, "Can I give Sasuke-kun a tour of the house, Dad?" Sasuke raised an arrogant eyebrow, already knowing the answer. Shishou would let Sakura do whatever she wanted, if she was cute enough. Her lip went puppy dog, and Shishou gave in, "Fine. You still need to—"

"Um, no! There's no training on Saturday for the little kids," Sakura blurted, now holding Sasuke's hand, starting to pull him out of his seat. Sasuke smirked, wrapping an arm around Sakura's waist, "Why not, Haruno-san? We won't do anything inappropriate…" He said, attempting to persuade him further, but succeeding in showing the father how possessive he could be when it came to Sakura. Shishou crossed his arms, now standing, his glare aimed straight at Sasuke. The two held no mercy toward each other, making both Sakura and Rei feel extremely out of place.

"You better not touch her in my house, Uchiha."

"Hn. I already _did_, _**Pops**_."

Rei jumped up, and held her husband back. "Shishou! Can't you just pretend to like Sasuke? Please! For Sakura?" At the same time, Sakura was reprimanding Sasuke, glowering at him, "Just pretend to like my Dad, okay? Either that or I'm not kissing you for the rest of the day," She narrowed her eyes, "I'm more than serious." The two men frowned at there hurt pride but soon agreed to the deal. Besides, sometimes pretending is more fun than being for real. Sasuke didn't really want to like the guy anyway. After a few more minutes, Shishou sighed reluctantly, "Go ahead, Sakura-chan."

Sasuke started to walk with her, arm tight around her waist, but Shishou placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him, "I said Sakura-chan. I need to talk to you."

* * *

A/N: Ha-ha! I just love the competition between the guys. It's all too real though in life. My Dad _killed_ my ex-boyfriend just by glaring at him just about every time he came to pick me up. It was hilarious! I'm bringing back the bad guys next chappie!

Happy Turkeys!

LOL, NaruBaby (Review)


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